Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Academic Performance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clarke County reports large year-to-year gains on state assessments; pass rate rises to about 74%
Summary
District officials told the school board June 25 that preliminary state assessment data show Clarke County Public Schools posted the second-largest improvement in its consortium, with overall pass rates and several subgroup measures increasing from 2024 to 2025.
Clarke County Public Schools reported substantial year-over-year gains on spring state assessments during the June 25 school board meeting, telling board members the district’s overall pass rate rose to about 74.35% and that the district recorded the second-largest improvement among members of a 70-plus‑district instructional consortium.
District staff presented the results to the Board of Education and school board members as part of an academic achievement update, and emphasized gains for both overall students and several subgroups. The district said its percentile ranking for pass rate in the consortium rose from roughly the 50th percentile last year to 67.6 this year — a recorded increase of about 16.9 percentage points — and that advanced pass rates (students scoring at the higher achievement level) rose to about 12.99% districtwide.
Why it matters: district officials said the improvement will move Clarke County up at least 14 spots in state rankings once the full state data are published, and they framed the gains as evidence that daily use of assessment data and alignment of instructional materials are driving improvement.
Key numbers provided to the board: - Overall pass rate (spring 2025): 74.35%. - Percentile ranking for pass rate in the comprehensive instructional program consortium: 67.6 (up about 16.9 points from 2024). - Advanced pass rate (scores at the higher band): 12.99%, with an advanced-pass percentile ranking of roughly 81.6 in the consortium. - Students with disabilities: pass rate increased from about 28.78% in 2024 to about 39.13% in 2025, a rise that the district characterized as the largest improvement among consortium members for that subgroup.
District presenters cautioned that the raw pass-rate figures are one part of a larger accountability picture. They noted the new state accreditation framework sets higher required pass rates for some subgroups (for example, a cited threshold of 75% in ELA for students with disabilities and 70% in math), and said more work remains to close remaining gaps, especially for economically disadvantaged students, who still show lower performance in parts of the system.
Board members asked how much of the gain can be attributed to specific policies. Presenters and trustees pointed to several likely contributors: joining the consortium for daily benchmark data; focused instructional leadership in buildings; implementation of the Virginia Literacy Act; and targeted interventions. Presenters said the consortium provides daily reports that help schools identify issues quickly instead of waiting until year-end.
Several schools were cited by name for gains: Johnson Williams Middle School’s pass rate rose from about 62.3% to about 70.2%; DG Cooley’s pass rate increased from about 66.4% to about 71.49%; and Boyse rose from about 67.4% to about 72.2%. Clarke County High School maintained a high pass rate above 80%.
Board members praised teachers and coaches and asked staff to continue providing the breakdowns by school and subgroup. District officials said they will publish the full state-ranking update when the state releases final numbers to all districts later in the year.
