In Halifax County, both Northwest and Southeast high schools exceeded expected growth.

Pittman Elementary and William R. Davie Middle School exceeded expected growth.

In Roanoke Rapids, Chaloner Middle School and Manning Elementary School exceeded expected growth.

In Weldon, Weldon Middle School and Weldon High School exceeded expected growth.

In Northampton, Gaston College Preparatory exceeded expected growth.

Schools meeting expected growth

Aurelian Springs Elementary

Dawson Elementary

Enfield Middle

Inborden Elementary

Scotland Neck Primary

Belmont Elementary

Weldon Elementary

Central Elementary in Northampton County

Northampton County High School

Willis Hare Elementary

Schools not meeting expected growth

Everetts Elementary

Hollister Elementary

Roanoke Rapids High School

Roanoke Valley Early College

Conway Middle School

Gaston Elementary

Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School

In a statement, Roanoke Rapids Graded Schools District Superintendent Dennis Sawyer said city schools continue to exceed or meet state growth levels. “The report card, which is based on the 2013-2014 school year, showed Chaloner Middle School and Manning Elementary School exceeding state growth and Belmont Elementary meeting the state’s growth standards.”

Sawyer said the report card also looks at class size, attendance, school safety, instructional resources and teacher quality.

At the high school level, the state took into account not just performance on End of Course tests but also the ACT, math course rigor and graduation rates. Roanoke Rapids High School, Manning Elementary and Chaloner Middle all received a letter grade of C, while Belmont Elementary received a letter grade of D.

“We’re encouraged with our progress,” said Sawyer. “We’ve had these numbers for quite some time and have been able to implement changes and strategies in the classroom to improve this school year. Additionally, our Board of Trustees adopted a comprehensive strategic plan last month called Vision 2020. That five-year plan is already serving as a catalyst for our district’s work to further strengthen quality teaching and learning, student engagement, collaboration and community support.”

The state Department of Public Instruction calculated this year’s letter grades on a 15-point scale, with 80 percent based on proficiency and 20 percent on growth.

State legislators have decided to calculate next year’s grades on a 10-point scale, meaning that a school could score a 71 this year and receive a B, yet could improve to a 79 next year and receive a C.

“While Raleigh’s assessment of school districts across the state may be difficult to understand, it’s important to note that our students cannot and will not become lost in state and federal statistics,” Sawyer said. “It is our job as educators to make sure every child graduates. Reports like these only tell part of the story. There is no way to truly measure the creative learning opportunities occurring in our classrooms on a daily basis. For that, I think we can give our teachers and parents an A+.”

A statement from the county school system is expected Friday. No one was immediately available for comment at Weldon this afternoon.