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The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District is performing well according to
the ABC's of Public Education tests released Wednesday. Nine of 14 schools in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District have been designated as Schools of Excellence.

The N.C. Department of Public Instruction released the test results for the 2001-2002 school year. The remaining schools in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District not receiving the designation as a School of Excellence received a designation of School of Distinction.

Only 14 percent of schools across the state were designated as Schools of Excellence.

"The fact that nearly two-thirds of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools received that designation is amazing," Superintendent Neil Pedersen said.

"We are coming closer and closer to our goal of all our schools being Schools of Excellence."

In Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools, 92 percent of all students in grades three through eight were proficient in reading and mathematics on end-of-grade tests.

The performance of black students is also improving. It increased by fivepercentage points from last year. About 74 percent of black students in grades threethrough eight were proficient on end-of-grade tests.

"I'm especially pleased with the gains our Africa-American fifth-graders made,"
Pedersen said. "At the fifth-grade gateway, 82 percent of our African-American studentsare proficient in reading and math."

The 2001-2002 school year is the sixth year of ABC's for kindergarten through
eighth-grade schools and the fourth year for high schools. Statewide, 71.7 percent of
students in grades three through eight were considered proficient in reading and
mathematics. This is up 10 points from 1996-1997.

Michael E. Ward, State Superintendent of Public Schools, says Chapel Hill-
Carrboro City Schools have always done well compared to other areas of the state and
continue to improve.

"They should serve as a model for all of our schools," Ward said. The ABC's of
Public Education, now in its seventh year, is North Carolina's public school testing
accountability program. The 2001-2002 testing program had 2,192 participating schools.

To receive the School of Excellence rating, the highest rating a school can
receive, at least 90 percent of students must test proficient in reading and math, and the
school must have met expected growth goals. To receive the School of Distinction
rating, at least 80 percent of students must test proficient in reading and math, and the
school must also have met expected growth goals.

Estes Hills Elementary School Principal Dale Minge says he is pleased with the
School of Excellence rating but wants to continue to improve.

"Our teachers are improving their instruction of students to make sure they meet
and exceed the state's standards," Minge said