Wake County presents promotion and retention data; district highlights racial disparities and Read to Achieve outcomes

Dr. Stacy Wilson Norman, Drew Cook and Dr. Brad McMillan presented the Wake County Public School System's annual update on promotion and retention, a report the board receives under board policy 3420. Cook summarized district trends, McMillan presented the data and Cook closed with strategies to reduce retention.

Cook and McMillan told the board that Wake County's non‑promotion rate (grades K‑13) over the last decade ran slightly below the state and that the pandemic years produced a notable dip in 2020 followed by a spike and a subsequent return toward pre‑pandemic levels. McMillan highlighted that retention is concentrated in two areas: high school (especially grades 9 and 10) and, to a lesser degree, early elementary (K‑2). He said the district's pattern mirrors state trends.

On subgroup disparities, McMillan said some racial and ethnic groups have retention rates "four to five times higher" than others and displayed multi‑year data showing persistent gaps across subgroups. He emphasized the research linking retention to decreased likelihood of on‑time graduation.

The presenters reviewed Read to Achieve (third grade) outcomes. McMillan summarized the breakdown: about 58–59% of third graders met the Read to Achieve standard by scoring proficient on the Beginning‑of‑Grade or End‑of‑Grade reading tests; roughly 15% met standards via alternate (mCLASS) assessments; about 3.4% were exempt as English learners and about 7% exempt due to special education criteria; and 15.7% had not met any gateway at the end of the year. After Read to Achieve summer camps, an additional roughly 340 students met the standard, leaving a final reported share of 12.8% of third graders who transitioned to the next year without meeting the statutory gateway, per the presentation. When a board member asked for counts, McMillan gave the approximate size of the third‑grade cohort for context.

The presentation described district guidance and process: principals make retention decisions with multi‑stakeholder school‑based teams, with communication and notification checkpoints in Q3 and Q4 and parent conferences to avoid surprises. Staff reiterated that promotion/retention decisions should be based on multiple data points (attendance, academic measures, social‑emotional considerations) and not solely on a single standardized test. Cook emphasized a district priority on strengthening core instruction to reduce the need for supplemental or intensive interventions: "We cannot intervene our way out of a core problem," he said, arguing that better core instruction reduces downstream intervention burdens.

Board members asked questions about summer program attendance and results; McMillan and the presenters said most students invited to Read to Achieve summer camps do not attend, which limits the program's effect on the overall cohort; improving outreach and attendance is an ongoing effort. Mahaffey and others asked whether implementation of the science of reading and associated professional learning has produced results; presenters said mCLASS scores have trended up and suggested that gains align temporally with science‑of‑reading training, while noting causation cannot be proven from the presentation data alone.

Ending: Staff said they will continue to refine guidance, socialize any updates with principals in January, and return to the board with related information about extended learning and intervention strategies in spring presentations. No board action was taken during the work session.