Nash County schools report strongest outcomes since before pandemic; 74% of schools earn C or higher

At the Nash County Board of Education meeting, district staff reported that school performance for 2024–25 improved significantly: 74% of schools received a C or higher and districtwide proficiency reached about 48%, the highest rate the presenter said the district has recorded in at least a decade.

District staff summarized state-approved results for the 2024–25 school year and noted that the data released by the state included about 17,000 end-of-grade (EOG) and end-of-course (EOC) assessments administered in the district. Of those, roughly 2,800 were science assessments that were “re‑normed” by the state and therefore were not available for retesting. The district administered about 3,900 additional opportunity (summer) assessments; staff said roughly two‑thirds of those students improved their score after brief remediation, and 20% of students who took a second opportunity reached proficiency when they had not on the first test.

The presenter explained the practical effect: the state allows a school to use the higher of a student’s two scores, and the district reported that about 15% of the test scores that feed school performance grades came from scores earned on the summer retest. That, staff said, helped some “bubble” schools move to higher letter grades and affected growth calculations used in the state formula.

Officials emphasized that the district’s demerger with Edgecombe County affected comparisons across years for some schools. Two schools (Edwards and Winstead Avenue) were described as having “baseline years” because the change in school configuration means prior-year comparisons are not apples‑to‑apples. Staff also said that some small schools did not meet minimum subgroup sizes (for example, fewer than 30 graduates), so particular indicators such as graduation rate or ACT scores were not counted in those schools’ performance calculations.

District highlights cited by staff included: several schools with significant year‑to‑year gains in overall school performance grade or growth (Cooper’s and Inglewood increased by about eight points, Nashville rose by about 13 points, Rocky Mount Middle by about nine), and multiple schools ranked in the top 10–20% statewide for growth in various subjects or subgroups. Staff noted Nash Central High’s growth score among the highest in the state and that the district’s cohort graduation rate rose to 85.8% (up about 2.5 percentage points).

The presenter framed the results as both progress and a reminder of remaining work: while proficiency and the percentage of schools with C or higher have climbed since the pandemic low, some schools are newly designated low‑performing because of how the formula and indicator counts apply at the school level. Board members asked clarifying questions about Tar River Academy’s reporting and about how the district will share results publicly; staff said the communications office was preparing materials and that DPI (the state) had posted statewide data.

Board members and other speakers repeatedly praised teachers, principals and support staff for the gains and urged that the district celebrate the results while continuing work to improve achievement.