How did Meck middle schools fare on exams?

Middle school performance on the 2013 N.C. exams shows some stark differences among schools, but the numbers provide few easy answers about what's working. (To see at-a-glance 2013 exam results for Charlotte-Mecklenburg middle schools and charter schools in the county, go to this map.)

Twelve of 51 middle schools had overall pass rates below 25 percent, while four topped 75 percent.

The new exams, which are designed to give a more realistic picture of college and career readiness than the old ones,  brought dramatic drops across the state. The patterns are predictable, with the biggest setbacks at the schools serving large numbers of low-income and minority students,  but still tough to see.

Last year I made regular visits to Ashley Park, a preK-8 school that's part of Project LIFT,  for a series on the eighth-graders and the faculty who were trying to get them ready for high school.  According to the new exams,  about 31 percent of those eighth graders ended the year proficient in math and just under 16 percent in reading.  The school's overall proficiency rating,  for all grades and subjects,  was 26.5 percent.

Ashley Park students at year's end

And that was far from the worst.  Most of the preK-8 schools created when CMS closed troubled high-poverty middle schools landed at the bottom of the pack as they finished their second year in the new structure.  Berryhill was the highest performing of the eight neighborhood preK-8 schools created in that move, with a 40.9 percent proficiency rate and a top growth rating. Reid Park Academy was the lowest, at 11.1 percent proficiency --  and an eighth-grade math pass rate below 5 percent.

Of course,  it's impossible to know how students would have fared if the old middle schools had remained.  And K-8 magnet schools such as Collinswood Language Academy (69.5 percent overall proficiency),  Waddell Language Academy (66.2 percent) and Morehead STEM (63.6 percent) performed much better.

Comparing CMS and charter middle schools provides a mixed bag as well.  Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy,  a K-8 charter,  topped the list with a 94.6 percent overall proficiency rate  --  hardly surprising since it serves highly gifted students.  CMS results for gifted students were also very high.  Kennedy School,  a K-12 charter for at-risk students,  was near the bottom.

In the south/southeast suburbs,  CMS neighborhood schools such as Robinson (82.7 percent),  South Charlotte (78.1 percent) and Community House (77.4 percent)  outscored nearby charters such as Socrates Academy (74.3 percent)  and Queens Grant (50.5 percent).  In the northern burbs that was reversed,  with Community School of Davidson (74.6 percent)  and Lake Norman Charter (73 percent)  topping CMS' Bailey (67.8 percent),  Bradley (55.2 percent) and Alexander (47.2 percent).

KIPP and Sugar Creek,  both charter schools known for success with disadvantaged students,  logged overall proficiency rates of 36.1 percent and 39.7 percent,  respectively.  Those aren't the kind of scores that will look good when the state starts issuing letter grades, but they're well above the nearest CMS middle schools,  Cochrane (17.6 percent) and Martin Luther King (22.8 percent). CarolinaCAN,  a new reform advocacy group, recently profiled Sugar Creek Charter as part of its video series on successful charters.

I'm working my way through the data, which was released earlier this month.  Mecklenburg high schools are already mapped,  and I'll get to the elementary schools as soon as possible.  If you'd like an Excel version of the middle and/or high school results, email me at ahelms@charlotteobserver.com.

K-8 schools: Not just for poor kids

The construction plan that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools released last week answers a question that's been looming for three years:  If K-8 schools are such a great thing for kids, why not put them in the suburbs?

In 2010, CMS leaders decided to close three high-poverty middle schools and move the students to elementary schools in west and central Charlotte.  Some families were skeptical of the claim that it was done to benefit students.  School closings,  driven largely by tight budgets,  fell disproportionately on low-income black neighborhoods,  and some saw the merged schools as a thrown-together solution.

Now a new group of leaders are eager to spread K-8 schools around Mecklenburg County. Among the top 50 priorities:

*Expand Davidson Elementary,  a low-poverty, high-performing schools in the north suburbs, to add middle school grades.

*Build a K-8 school in the county's southern tip,  home to some of the most affluent subdivisions and high-performing schools. It would combine neighborhood and magnet seats, with a STEAM theme (that's science, technology, engineering, arts and math).

*Expand Mountain Island Elementary in northwest Charlotte to add middle school grades. Parents and faculty there have been pushing for the change, which would give students the chance to continue a STEM focus in middle school  (see above, minus arts).

*Build a K-8 school in east Charlotte that combines neighborhood seats and a dual-immersion Spanish-English magnet.

*Build preK-8 schools in west Charlotte,  north Charlotte and the Mint Hill area to relieve crowded schools.

All these changes depend on how much borrowing county officials and/or voters approve.  Commissioners have indicated a need to move slowly to avoid debt overload.

The plan makes it clear that Superintendent Heath Morrison  --  and the current board,  assuming they approve the plan on April 23 -- see academic value and popular appeal in K-8 schools.

Less clear is whether that will restore the confidence of urban voters angered by the closings. There's little doubt that the hasty conversion to preK-8 schools in 2011-12 created problems with crowding,  discipline and adequate facilities.  The new plan includes almost $23 million to properly convert the buildings at six sites,  with two others  (Berryhill and Briarwood)  slated for replacement buildings because of the age of the schools.

Last month County Commissioner Vilma Leake,  who represents the west/southwest District 2,  told the school board the closings remain a sore spot for her constituents,  who want to see some or all of the closed schools reopened.  The new capital plan calls for reopening Oakhurst Elementary and  Starmount PreK Center in southeast Charlotte as elementary schools and turning the former Smith Language Academy in south Charlotte into a magnet high school.  But it doesn't address the closed middle schools in Leake's district.

Whatever your thoughts,  the chance to comment is at the April 9 school board meeting.  Click here to find the agenda later this week and for instructions on signing up to speak.