In 2009, 17 urban districts participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science test. A representative sample of fourth- and eighth-grade public school students took the test.
Despite having neighborhood schools, black fourth-grade students in Charlotte/Mecklenburg had average science scores that were higher than the averages for the nation and other large cities.
Black eighth-grade students had scores that were statistically identical to the national average and higher than the average for other large cities.
Of course, the cities/districts involved in the study are not exactly comparable, i.e., district/city size and demographics vary significantly. But the ability to compare Charlotte’s performance to national averages is useful.
