LAURINBURG — Scotland County Schools outpaced the state in academic growth during the 2025-26 school year, with 87.5% of district schools meeting or exceeding expected growth compared with 72.9% statewide, according to accountability results released Wednesday.
Of the nine Scotland County schools receiving a growth designation, seven met or exceeded expected growth in 2025-26. Statewide, 72.9% of schools met or exceeded expected growth, with 44.3% meeting growth and 28.7% exceeding growth.
Scotland County Schools also went a second consecutive year without a school receiving an F performance grade. In 2022-23, three district schools received an F. Statewide, 3.2% of North Carolina schools received an F in 2025-26.
Since the 2022-23 school year, Scotland County Schools has shown improvement in 32 of 34 tested areas, with fourth-grade reading and WorkKeys as the only exceptions.
The district’s graduation rate also increased to 91.2%, 2.4 percentage points higher than North Carolina’s 88.8% graduation rate. The state’s graduation rate reached an all-time high this year, increasing from 87.8% to 88.8%.
District leaders attributed the results to the work of students and staff and the district’s continued focus on RISA — Relationships, Instruction, Safety and Accountability.
“These results show that the work happening every day in our classrooms is making a difference,” said Superintendent Dr. Adell Baldwin. “Our progress has been built over time by staying focused on strong relationships, high-quality instruction, safe and supportive schools, and accountability for results. Those principles of RISA continue to guide our work as we raise expectations for ourselves and for our students.”
School performance
Laurel Hill Elementary School recorded one of the district’s largest gains, increasing its school performance score from 47 to 56 and moving from a D to a C. The school also moved from not meeting expected growth last year to meeting expected growth in 2025-26.
Nearly every traditional school increased its numerical performance score from 2024-25. Sycamore Lane increased from 43 to 47, Wagram from 42 to 45, Carver from 42 to 45, Spring Hill from 41 to 48, Scotland High from 59 to 63, and Scotland Early College from 91 to 94.
South Johnson Elementary was the only school to experience a decrease; however, South Johnson met expected growth for the 2025-26 school year.
Scotland High School exceeded expected academic growth for the second consecutive year, with students showing stronger growth this year than last year.
Scotland Early College High School exceeded expected academic growth for the fourth consecutive year, with students demonstrating increasingly strong growth over that four-year period.
Laurel Hill, South Johnson, Sycamore Lane, Wagram and Carver all met expected growth this year.
Spring Hill Middle School demonstrated improvement in academic growth this year. While the school’s multi-year growth calculation was not yet enough to earn the state’s “Met” designation, this year’s results show improvement.
Growth and proficiency
North Carolina School Performance Grades are calculated using two primary measures: 80% student achievement and 20% academic growth. While both measures are important, they provide different perspectives on student achievement.
Proficiency measures whether students meet designated achievement levels on state assessments, while growth measures the academic progress students make over time, regardless of where they began.
Scotland County Schools does not shy away from its proficiency data.
“We are not afraid of our data, and we own our results,” Baldwin said. “When the data tells us we need to improve, it is our responsibility to acknowledge that and do the work necessary to get better. That is the accountability piece of RISA.”
At the same time, district leaders believe student growth should account for a greater percentage of the state’s School Performance Grade formula.
“We would like to see growth account for a greater percentage of a school’s performance grade because growth provides a broader picture of the learning that takes place in a classroom throughout the school year,” Baldwin said.
“A proficiency score reflects how a student performs on a state assessment administered at a particular point in time. Growth helps us see how far that student has come because of the instruction, support, and relationships that happen every day in our schools.”
That distinction can be particularly important for students who begin the school year below grade-level expectations. A student may make significant academic progress during a school year and still not reach the state’s proficiency threshold. While that progress may not be fully reflected in the proficiency component of the school’s letter grade, it can be reflected in academic growth.
For Scotland County Schools, both measures provide information about student performance.
Graduation rate, ACT scores
Scotland County Schools’ four-year cohort graduation rate increased from 90.7% to 91.2% in 2025-26.
The district’s rate exceeds North Carolina’s 88.8% rate by 2.4 percentage points.
Over the past four years, Scotland County Schools’ graduation rate has increased 4.6 percentage points.
The comparison comes as North Carolina recorded its highest four-year graduation rate in state history.
Districtwide, 11th-grade ACT composite performance increased by 7.5 points over the previous year.
Statewide, the average ACT composite score increased from 18.2 to 18.4, while the percentage of North Carolina 11th graders scoring 17 or higher increased from 54% to 55%.
Four years of progress
Since 2022-23, performance scores have increased from 34 to 47 at Sycamore Lane, 29 to 45 at Carver Middle School, 41 to 48 at Spring Hill Middle School, 53 to 63 at Scotland High School, and 83 to 94 at Scotland Early College.
Laurel Hill has increased from 47 to 56 during that same period.
During the same period, Scotland County Schools has shown improvement in 32 of 34 tested areas, with fourth-grade reading and WorkKeys being the only exceptions.
North Carolina as a whole also experienced improvement in 2025-26. Statewide grade-level proficiency across all subjects increased from 55% in 2024-25 to 59.2% in 2025-26, the highest statewide composite of the past three years.
The district will continue its RISA — Relationships, Instruction, Safety and Accountability — approach during the 2026-27 school year through RISA 2.0: Turn Up the Volume.
The district says the initiative will focus on strengthening existing practices while addressing areas that need improvement.
“As a Board, we are extremely proud of the progress taking place across Scotland County Schools,” said Board of Education Chair Rick Singletary. “These results represent years of hard work by our students, teachers, administrators, and staff, along with the continued support of our families and community. We also recognize that there is more work to be done, and we remain committed to supporting our superintendent and our schools as they continue this important work. What is most encouraging is that we are seeing sustained progress, and that tells us we are moving in the right direction.”
Preliminary district records also indicate that discipline incidents and the dropout rate continue to trend downward. Official data for those measures are expected in October, and the district will share additional information once those results are finalized.
“We are proud of the progress, but we know there is more work ahead,” Baldwin said. “RISA 2.0 is about building on the foundation we have established and turning up the volume on what works. We want stronger relationships, stronger instruction, safer schools and greater accountability. Most importantly, we want the progress we are seeing to reach every student in every classroom.”
The district plans to focus on academic growth, proficiency and maintaining improvements across its schools during the 2026-27 school year.
“We have momentum,” Baldwin said. “Now, we have to build on it.”