State: Watauga schools above average

By Scott Nicholson

Watauga County schools received their report cards Thursday, and though the state assigns no grades, the county results show the system is performing above the state average.

The “School Report Cards” are issued for all school districts by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The report cards feature previously released information, such as each school’s ABC’s end-of-grade testing and a variety of other information gathered to help keep parents and policy makers informed about school progress and make-up.

School report cards provide data for school enrollment, average class sizes, ABCs test results, teacher qualifications, school safety statistics and instructional resources.

Each of the elementary schools in Watauga County Schools scored above the state average in the percentage of students rated proficient in reading and math on end-of-grade tests. For the school system as a whole, 75.9 percent of students in grades 3 through 8 scored at or above grade level proficiency on the end-of-grade tests in reading compared to 57.2 percent statewide. In math, 84.6 percent of students in grades 3 through 8 scored at or above grade level proficiency compared to 71.4 percent statewide.

At Watauga High School, 77.9 percent of end-of-course test results were proficient or above compared to 68.4 percent statewide.

The report cards show enrollment figures for each grade, the numbers of teachers at each certification level and level of teaching experience and teacher-turnover rate.

It also reports acts of crime or violence, with 45 reported at Watauga High School, or a rate of three per 100 students, more than three times the statewide school average. Valle Crucis reported two, Parkway reported one and Hardin Park reported three among the elementary schools.

The number of acts of crime or violence include those occurring on school grounds, on a school bus, at a bus stop or during off-campus, school-sponsored activities Ninety-seven percent of the school district’s teachers are fully licensed, compared to 92 percent statewide, and 43 percent have advanced degrees.

Sixty percent of the Watauga County teachers have 10 or more years of experience.

As a state, North Carolina failed to meet “adequate yearly progress” under the No Child Left Behind guidelines and met 57 of 82 performance targets.

North Carolina also failed to meet its graduation target, with nearly 30 percent of students failing to graduate.

A “snapshot” summary of each school’s results will be sent home with students in Watauga County schools.
The complete results for all schools will be available online at www.ncreportcards.org.