For the second straight year, students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools made significant gains in academic performance, according to data the state released Wednesday.
The percentage of CMS students testing at grade level increased across every category last school year, with some of the biggest improvements coming in third-grade reading and high school Math I. Those were bright spots at the state level, too, but CMS saw larger gains in both — 11 points in third-grade reading and 13 in Math I. The gains represent big jumps after years of stagnation.
The results come from mandatory state end-of-grade and end-of-course tests that students took at the end of the 2025-26 school year. The N.C. Department of Public Instruction released the results Wednesday.
CMS Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Beth Thompson said the improvements in third-grade reading reflect the first group of students who attended school fully in person after the COVID-19 pandemic and benefited from state and local literacy reforms throughout their early elementary years.
“There is now data, an increase of 11% in third-grade student proficiency, to support that those strategies are now producing results as students cross the threshold to third grade,” Thompson said during a media briefing.
At a state Board of Education meeting, officials also noted that the state offered an additional retesting opportunity in reading for third-graders who initially tested as not proficient this year. That may have helped boost scores, but state officials believed this couldn’t have accounted for all of the gain.
“What we have sort of determined is that it results in roughly 2-to-4% change,” said Michael Maher, DPI’s chief accountability officer. “Small, meaningful, but again, it’s not the entire population of students. It is a subset of students who are participating.”
Maher said the state believes the retesting opportunity helps capture what students are learning, not just how they performed on a single day of testing.
“How many times have you heard, 'Well, Michael had a bad day today; Michael was sick, Michael had this problem, Michael had that problem'?” Maher said. “A retest gives a student an opportunity to demonstrate what they know and can do. And for some students who are right there on the margin, it moves them over.”
School performance improves
CMS also improved school-level performance grades — the letter grades students get based on their performance and year-over-year improvement.
You can check your school’s performance grade here.
The district said 78% of schools received an A, B or C school performance grade, an increase of 12 schools from the previous year. That’s 136 schools.
Last year, CMS brought the number of schools rated “F” down from 15 to six. Superintendent Crystal Hill said at the time the district hoped to bring that down to zero this year. They fell just short of that goal — but still saw improvement. Only two schools are left with an F rating.
The district made less progress in reducing the number of schools the state designates as low-performing. Last year, CMS set a district record when it took 32 schools off the low-performing list and added only 7. This year, the district took off 17 more — but added 14.
Still, at 28, CMS has fewer low-performing schools than before the pandemic.
CMS' graduation rate also increased by 3.3%, to 87.9%. That’s slightly below the state graduation rate but represents the district’s highest since at least the 2018-19 school year.
The results come as the district continues to grapple with the aftermath of Superintendent Crystal Hill’s suspension and reinstatement earlier this summer. Hill did not attend Wednesday’s media briefing. Instead, she was in Raleigh for a news conference highlighting CMS test scores.
