Education Rankings

There are many types of measures of a public school system, graduation rate, per capita spending or SAT scores, for example.

 

One measure of a school system is what others outside the system think of the quality of the system.  The following accolades have been given to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public School System. (CMS)

CMS students outperform international peers in math  Charlotte, NC — October 27, 2008 /PRNewswire – A new report released Thursday shows that students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools outperform students from most other nations in mathematics.

The analysis, conducted by the American Institute for Research (AIR), shows that students in only five of the 24 comparison countries did better than CMS students in fourth grade and only nine of the 43 comparison countries did better in eighth grade. Read the press release.

CMS High Schools Among the Best, Fourteen CMS schools made Newsweek magazine's 2008 best high schools list. Myers Park High ranked 38, the highest among North Carolina's 55 schools making the list for offering students academically rigorous courses and administering both Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams. May 1, 2008   Read the press release from CMS.

How Charlotte Tops Big Cities in School Tests, The Wall Street Journal profiles Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools. December 2, 2005

CMS outperforms state and nation in three out of four areas measured on national assessment. Students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools outperformed their peers in the state and in the nation on three out of four areas measured on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which was released by the U.S. Department of Education. December 1, 2005

The Best Education in the Biggest Cities, Forbes.com, February 2004
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools was ranked seventh among the nation’s 100 largest school districts in the most populous cities in the country. The article references large public school districts that beat the odds and deliver high school graduates who have received a top quality education.   Some areas Charlotte ranked highest: 

U.S. News and World Report magazine on March 15, 2004 had the cover story focusing on the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. the Board of Education and what school districts are doing to close the achievement gap. CMS is featured in the article as a result of tremendous gains in student achievement and a strong focus on narrowing the gap.  March, 2004

In addition, CMS was featured on CNN and in USA Today marking Brown vs. Board of Education Anniversary. Review this information

20 Charlotte-Mecklenburg School achievements are listed.  Including:

  • CMS has 24 Schools of Excellence and 42 Schools of Distinction as recognized by the North Carolina ABCs of Public Education Program.
  • CMS was the first district in the state to offer the International Baccalaureate program, the most challenging curriculum in the country.
  • On SAT scores, the top 10 percent of CMS students outperform the top 10 percent of students, both statewide and nationally.