NC High Schools

If you are looking for information about high schools in NC, skip all the PR from the school districts and school staff- even if they are registered on this site as "parents".   Go straight to the NC Department of Public Instruction Report Cards.   They are on the NCDPI.gov website.   

Their statistics can only be manipulated to a certain extent... I have found that school staff often select the parents they want to take the survey for a school, and therefore can have awfully sunny opinion results for their school.

Some of the statistics that cannot be manipulated are the number of kids who actually graduate from the high school compared to the number of kids that entered the freshman class 4 years prior to said graduation.    That number is critical to your assessment of the school for your child.    Unless of course, you are sure you have the perfect child who will never have any problems in school!    Those children are not like mine!    That number is on the CMS Accountability Measures page for Charlotte School report cards;  the state number is 70 percent, not pretty;  if the school you are looking at is below this number, I think they have a serious problem.   In the school we attended,  between 750 and 800 freshmen came in, and a little over 300 graduated.   

Another thing to look at is ABC designation;  the state has put alot of effort into making these comparisons equitable, allowing for problems that arise due to lower incomes, ESL populations, etc.   Don't let anyone tell you that a school is not getting recognition in this category because of low incomes in the school.    This is a measure of success and improvement due to the interest the staff show in actually teaching the kids that come through their doors.  Sometimes change is needed - teaching methods may need to change a bit over the course of a 40 year career.

Another measure of the schools' success is whether a year's worth of progress is made in this school by its students.   The state average is 60 percent, which is bad;  if a schools' number is lower, think about how profitable your child's time will be there.  

If you are interested in AP courses, and would like to have your child benefit from taking them, make sure you know how many kids are actually taking and passing the AP tests.  

Lastly,  I would have benefitted alot from taking note of the schools that are highlighted in the guidance office.  If none of these schools are the type or level that your family is interested in, I would definitely consider looking elsewhere.   Those schools are where the graduates of this school go, and probably where the teachers went.   This is where your child will be directed, if they are directed to college at all.  

Look for what programs are posted in this office for summer opportunities, and see if there is anything that would be appropriate for your child.   How many are there?   How varied are they?   If there is nothing you see that might be interesting for your child, you may want to consider another school, because the things that are posted are what they specialize in.  You would be surprised how many programs require (no substitute) a guidance office recommendation - it might be difficult to get if your student is not their typical student.   The number of these kinds of extracurricular opportunities are generally a reflection of the enthusiasm they have for their job.   

Hope this helps... NC is working on their system, and Charlotte has alot of really great schools;  it just pays to pick and choose carefully.   You only get one shot per child at high school, and it will determine where they go to school, and to some extent, what opportunities the rest of their life will hold.

In other words, if you are worried, you certainly should be!