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Durham Public Schools reports gains in growth and proficiency for 2024–25 school year
Summary
DPS reported that 88.9% of its schools met or exceeded academic growth in 2024–25 and overall grade-level proficiency rose to 48.4%. The district highlighted increases in reading and math proficiency, subgroup shifts, AP exam participation gains and ongoing work to address graduation-rate declines in some groups.
Durham Public Schools presented its 2024–25 accountability results under the Every Student Succeeds Act framework at the Nov. 19 joint meeting.
Al Royster, executive director for research and accountability, said the district’s school performance grade (SPG) composite — weighted 80% achievement and 20% growth per NCDPI — showed improvements: the share of A/B/C schools increased to 56.6% and the district recorded its highest number of A-rated schools since 2018–19. Royster highlighted that 88.9% of DPS schools met or exceeded academic growth, placing DPS first among the state’s 12 largest districts on that metric.
Districtwide overall grade-level proficiency (GLP) rose to 48.4%, a 1.4 percentage-point increase from the prior year. Royster reported reading proficiency (grades 3–8 composite) rose to 47.2 and math composite to 50.6, with gains in most tested grades. Science proficiency (grades 5 and 8) showed a composite of 53.3, a decline Royster attributed to state 'renorming' after science standards were updated.
On high-school measures, the district reported mixed results: a 4-year cohort graduation rate of 80.4% (a small decrease) and improvements in some end-of-course proficiencies, ACT performance and AP participation. The district reported a 5-year high in AP exams taken and a 6% increase in qualifying exams.
Royster and Superintendent Dr. King emphasized strategies to continue improvement: consistent, district-approved instructional resources, instructional-practice walkthroughs to align classroom practice to research-based strategies, and increasing principal time in classrooms for focused feedback. Board members asked for further analysis tying supports (for example, counselors and wraparound services) to outcomes; staff said structured research would be needed to demonstrate causal relationships and that the district is working to normalize resource allocation across schools.
Royster presented subgroup data showing mixed movement across racial/ethnic and programmatic subgroups: five subgroups improved and five declined on overall proficiency composites. The district said it will use these data to target supports and refine strategies.
