CMS hints at improved Math I scores, but numbers will not be out until fall

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Crystal Hill this week suggested the district saw unexpected improvements in its Math I scores this year, a key goal for the board of education after years of stubborn results.

Hill on Tuesday presented a report to the board that was sobering on its face. The report predicted that the percentage of students scoring at least a 4 on their state Math I exams would decline from 29% to 27% this year. That would put the district 15 percentage points shy of this year’s target of 42%. The report said the district was “off-track” from its long-term goal of 57% by 2029.

But Hill noted those projections were based on the Mastery View Predictive Assessment (MVPA) exam, a predictive test, and was made prior to students' taking their actual state exams at the end of this school year. And while Hill said she is unable to share those results publicly until the fall, she strongly suggested that results were better than the MVPA had predicted.

“We know that the strategies that we’ve put in place have worked because if I could rewrite this report right now in real time, we would be progressing,” Hill said.

In the context of the board’s goals, “progressing” usually means that the district is showing improvement, but still might be off the pace needed to hit the 2029 goal.

When asked by Board Member Liz Monterrey-Duvall if there was a systemic issue holding back students in math, Hill smiled and said, “I’m looking forward to October 2026.”

“The data that you have in front of you today — there is a huge shift in what you will see in October,” Hill said.

Increasing the percentage of students considered “career- and college-ready” in Math I is one of the CMS board’s four primary goals. It has proven to be the most difficult to improve, with only slight gains over the past two years.

Since the 2022-23 school year, the percentage of career- and college-ready students has increased only 2 percentage points, from 27% to 29%. That is well below the pace needed to reach the district’s five-year goal of 57%.

Hill said the district has had a “radical shift” in its math instruction with more of an emphasis on small group work and discussion so students can better work through problem solving.

Hill also explained that, based on feedback, CMS has intentionally sought to scale back the amount of testing throughout the year, reducing the number of times MVPA has been administered. As a result, Hill said the MVPA isn’t necessarily “a true, strong projection.”

Instead, teachers use the MVPA as a diagnostic tool to gauge students’ strengths and weaknesses.

“Some of the content is not taught at the time we give the assessment,” Hill said.