Below is the student achievement record that resulted from the policies of the former Wake County school board — which the NAACP and Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker continue to champion — juxtaposed against the record of Wayne County, which the NAACP has sued. From John Hood’s January column: (emphasis is mine)
By virtually every measure, Wayne County matches or outperforms Wake County when it comes to student achievement among the disadvantaged. According to the most recent state test scores:
• About 49 percent of Wayne County students eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch – the standard for disadvantaged used in public schools – scored at grade level on their reading and math tests. The comparable share of Wake County students was 44 percent. The passing rates for black students was about the same in each county, 45.5 percent in Wayne and 45.2 percent in Wake.
• Among high-school students, the average passing rate on end-of-course tests among disadvantaged students in Wayne was 60.4 percent, vs. 58.5 percent for Wake. Black students in Wake did do slightly better than Wayne on those tests, however.
