Schools report card: Best and worst performing school districts in the Cape Fear

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released its annual performance report this week.

The report for the 2024-2025 school year shows both test scores and graduation rates on the rise statewide. Here in the Cape Fear, districts saw mixed results. 

Out of the districts in our area, Whiteville City Schools saw the largest net decrease in performance when compared to the 2023-2024 school year. 

Test scores there dropped an average of 3.3 points, while the graduation rate plummeted by 7 points. 

Columbus County Schools saw the largest performance increase this year. 

Test scores there rose an average of 0.4 points, while the graduation rate is up by 3.1 points. 

Here’s the breakdown by district: 

Composite test scores (all students, all subjects) 

• State average: up 0.8, 55% grade level proficiency (GLP) 

• New Hanover County Schools: down 1.1, 60% GLP 

• Brunswick County Schools: down 0.2, 55% GLP 

• Pender County Schools: down 0.4, 59% GLP 

• Columbus County Schools: up 0.4, 43% GLP 

• Whiteville City Schools: down 3.3, 50% GLP 

• Bladen County Schools: down 3.1, 39% GLP 

Graduation rates 

• State average: up 0.7, 87.7% overall 

• New Hanover County Schools: up 0.8, 88.7% 

• Brunswick County Schools: up 2.4, 87.6% 

• Pender County Schools: down 0.9, 91.8% 

• Columbus County Schools: up 3.1, 88.5% 

• Whiteville City Schools: down 7.0, 82.3% 

• Bladen County Schools: down 7.5, 82.8% 

Columbus County Schools Superintendent Jesse Beck attributes the district’s improvement to collaboration between educators. 

“When I came on board, you know, my whole thing was we’re going to be a family-oriented district, and within a year we have reached that goal,” he said. “We have teams working together, we have teacher leaders, we have district leads. Like I said, from the top to the bottom, everyone is working together as a family.” 

Beck says some the areas that saw the biggest improvements last year were in reading comprehension and high school math. 

“Our Math 3 scores were really high, so we’re proud of those at the high school level,” he said. “We saw some remarkable improvements in reading across the board in our lower levels. We really need to focus on some of our math instruction, particularly in the 7th grade with Math 1.” 

Challenges with Math 1 scores are shared with New Hanover County Schools. 

“We outperformed the state in 11 out of 13 areas. The two areas that we didn’t were biology and Math 1,” NHCS Superintendent Chris Barnes said. 

Barnes says the district saw improvement in several key areas. 

The report shows graduation rates for the district rose by 0.8 points. 

Testing scores slipped by 1.1 points, but still remain the highest test scores in our area at 60% grade level proficiency. 

“New Hanover High School’s graduation rate was the highest it’s been in 11 years. Our overall graduation rate has improved,” Barnes said. 

Though Barnes notes metrics aren’t always everything. 

“I think what I most want to remind everyone is that kids are more than just a test score,” he said. 

You can view an interactive version of NCDPI’s 2024-2025 report here.