School performance now available online
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on December 7, 2015 1:46 PM
Anyone interested in learning how the state's public schools performed over the last school year can now sift through data with the click of a mouse.
The 2014-15 Report Cards were actually released in September. But everything has since been compiled into a "one-stop information source" online, officials said.
"It's the same data, a different platform to check it on," said Dr. David Lewis, assistant superintendent for accountability/information technology services and athletics with Wayne County Public Schools. "It gets it all in one place."
Previously, he said, the statistics were available on the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction website, but had been more scattered -- teacher turnover in one area, suspension data in another, for example. The latest update will allow for easier access.
The data is also more comprehensive, provided for every public school, whether traditional or charter, he said.
Every school in the state sends out what they call "snapshots" of the most current data.
"The state used to set a date, districts had to release the information," he said. "Over the last couple of years, they have been told to send it sometime shortly after the release.
"Every (WCPS) school is to do it this week."
The website, www.ncpublicschools.org/src/resources covers a lot of ground. Beyond the latest school test scores, it also offers information on class size, school safety, crime or violence statistics, teacher turnover and even suspension figures.
"If you want to dig deeper than that, you can," Lewis said. "It takes you to the SAS website. They can find whatever they want. There's lots more information other than what's on the snapshot."
The state previously released most recent accountability results in September. The 2014-2015 Performance and Growth of North Carolina Public Schools report was approved by the N.C. Board of Education.
This is the third year for the READY school accountability, which replaced the ABCs model that had been in place since the mid-1990s.
"This is the 14th year North Carolina has provided a comprehensive resource for information on public school indicators," State Superintendent Dr. June Atkinson said. "The information contained in the N.C. School Report Cards will help parents and the public better understand how schools are preparing students for the future."
This is the second year state law has required the school performance grades, an A-F format, be included on the school-level report cards.
The SAS software used in providing the report cards also allows for "side-by-side comparisons," officials said, but since schools vary in size, grade levels and population served, cautioned against relying on the data to rank schools.
Parents are encouraged to review the information to learn more about their child's school and its curriculum and programs.
There is one caveat relating to technology. The website reportedly does not work on some browsers. State officials announced it has not been accessible on Apple devices -- iPads, iPhones and iPods.