CMS Is Failing African American Students

Establish a goal that at least 75% all demographic subgroups will graduate with at least one state endorsement by the end of the 2024 school year. Annual targets will be established for each demographic subgroup.

In light of the low performance of African American students in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) as described in the document below, the African American Faith Alliance For Educational Advancement  (Faith Alliance) has carefully analyzed CMS’s  2024 Strategic Plan — its road map for improving the academic performance of all students.  In short, it is our belief that the plan lacks adequate specificity in terms of benchmarks and targets with corresponding timelines and work plans.  Moreover, we believe the plan is not bold enough in its goal-setting to cause educators to abandon the status quo and to begin an aggressive path forward for academic excellence truly reflective of high expectations for all students.

The Faith Alliance reached its conclusions after engaging in multiple conversations and meetings with the Superintendent and his staff regarding recent and current local and state-required measurable student performance outcomes.  It is important to note that the performance of African American students highlighted in the document below is only a sampling of the low-performance indicators that cause alarm for the recent academic slide African American students have experienced over the last 4 years. The document begins with pertinent definitions, followed by “key accountability benchmarks and targets.”

In the final section, the Faith Alliance offers a recommendation regarding how the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) can tie funding to a real plan that gets real results.

1. Did you know North Carolina African American students had an enforceable constitutional right to a “Sound Basic Education”
2. Did you know only 26% of North Carolina’s African American students are College or Career Ready
3. Did you know scoring proficient on North Carolina tests is not College or Career Ready
4. Did you know 85% of North Carolina’s African American students don’t qualify for NC High School Diploma Endorsement
5. Did you know only 32% of North Carolina African American students meet the UNC minimum standard
6. Are highly effective teachers in my child’s school
7. Are you partnering with your child’s teacher for success
8. Mom is the first and best teacher. Are you engaged with the teacher
9. One Standard, One Test
10. CMS has 42 low-performing schools
11. CMS has 36 recurring low-performing schools
12. North Carolina missing coherence between curriculum, instruction and assessment
13. CMS Fall 2020 End of Course African American test failures, Biology 68.1%; English II 47.7%; Math I  78.1%; Math III 64.6%
14. 70% CMS students grade 3-8 fail to meet college or career achievement status in reading and mathematics