Students in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools continued to outperform their counterparts across North Carolina in reading, despite large drops in student performance statewide following the administration of new reading tests for students in grades three through eight and the setting of higher standards for attaining proficiency on those tests.

This year, 78.5 percent of CHCCS students posted proficient scores in reading. Last year, that number was 93.4 percent at the elementary level and 94.2 at the middle school level.

A conference call with educators statewide last week prepared them to expect drops of approximately 30 percent. The former range on reading tests in grades three through eight was 83-92 percent. The new range is 52-61 percent. The CHCCS drop is approximately one-half of the statewide decline.

"It's difficult to help educators and parents understand that our students improved their reading skills last year when the percent proficient looks so dramatically lower," said Diane Villwock, executive director for testing and program evaluation. "The changes make us ask ourselves what's good enough? In raising standards, we may make students better readers in the end, but the presentation of the results the first year with new standards can be demoralizing to students and staff."

Indeed, critics of the rigor of North Carolina's End-of-Grade Tests have long pointed to comparisons made to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). NAEP's analysis showed that North Carolina's fourth grade reading test ranked 45th in the nation in rigor and that the eighth grade reading test ranked 50th in the nation.

"Although there is a decline in the percentage of students who are proficient in reading this year, there is typically a rebound in the year following the changes in the test," said Superintendent Neil Pedersen. "We have continued to experience growth in our math scores after similar revisions were made to that test two years ago. The challenge, then, is for us to make the necessary instructional improvements that help our students meet these higher levels of performance."

The downward trend in reading scores brought changes in school recognition as well. Last year, CHCCS had four Schools of Excellence (90 percent or more of students at or above grade level), 10 Schools of Distinction (80 percent or more of students at or above grade level) and one School of Progress (70 percent or more of students at or above grade level). This year, the district, which has an additional school to report with the opening of Carrboro High School, has no Schools of Excellence, 12 Schools of Distinction and four Schools of Progress. Growth, the academic measure on which teacher bonuses is based, was calculated this year using only math results. The changes in school recognition, therefore, do not impact teacher compensation.

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) was released for the reading results. Last year, the annual measurable objective for each subgroup was 84 percent. The US Department of Education adjusted the reading objective for North Carolina schools to reflect the change in test rigor. The new objective for North Carolina is 43.2 percent.

Under this new measure, 12 of the district's 16 schools made AYP. All schools made AYP in reading except for Frank Porter Graham, McDougle Elementary, McDougle Middle and East Chapel Hill High School. These schools are not facing sanctions under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation as a result of not making AYP because this is the first year that they haven't met the AYP standard in reading. Carrboro Elementary was spared additional sanctions under NCLB by making AYP in reading this year.