Scotland County News

Scotland County Schools continues to demonstrate sustained academic progress, with 2025 - 26 accountability results that were released publicly on September 2, showing improvement across schools, tested subject areas, graduation outcomes, and key measures of student achievement.

For the second consecutive year, Scotland County Schools has no schools receiving an F performance grade, continuing a significant turnaround from 2022 - 23, when three schools received an F. Statewide, 3.2% of North Carolina schools received an F for 2025 - 26.

The progress extends well beyond school performance grades. Since the 2022 - 23 school year, Scotland County Schools has shown improvement in 32 of 34 tested areas, with fourth-grade reading and WorkKeys as the only exceptions.

The district's graduation rate also increased to 91.2%, 2.4 percentage points higher than North Carolina's 88.8% graduation rate. The state's graduation rate reached an all-time high this year, increasing from 87.8% to 88.8%.

District leaders credit the sustained progress to the collective work of students and staff and a consistent focus on RISA -  Relationships, Instruction, Safety and Accountability - which has served as the foundation for the district's improvement efforts.

“These results show that the work happening every day in our classrooms is making a difference,” said Superintendent Dr. Adell Baldwin. “Our progress has been built over time by staying focused on strong relationships, high-quality instruction, safe and supportive schools, and accountability for results. Those principles of RISA continue to guide our work as we raise expectations for ourselves and for our students.”

School Performance Continues to Improve

Laurel Hill Elementary School recorded one of the district's most notable gains, increasing its school performance score from 47 to 56 and moving from a D to a C. The school also moved from not meeting expected growth last year to meeting expected growth in 2025 - 26.

Nearly every traditional school increased its numerical performance score from 2024 - 25. Sycamore Lane increased from 43 to 47, Wagram from 42 to 45, Carver from 42 to 45, Spring Hill from 41 to 48, Scotland High from 59 to 63, and Scotland Early College from 91 to 94.

South Johnson Elementary was the only school to experience a decrease; however, South Johnson met expected growth for the 2025 - 26 school year.

SCS Outpaces State in Meeting or Exceeding Growth

Student growth results provide another important indicator of progress within Scotland County Schools, and one area where the district compares favorably with statewide results.

Of the nine Scotland County schools receiving a growth designation, eight (87.5%) met or exceeded expected growth in 2025 - 26. Statewide, 72.9% of North Carolina schools met or exceeded expected growth, with 44.3% meeting growth and 28.7% exceeding growth.

Scotland High School exceeded expected academic growth for the second consecutive year, with students showing even stronger growth this year than last year. 

Scotland Early College High School exceeded expected academic growth for the fourth consecutive year, with students demonstrating increasingly strong growth over that four-year period.

Laurel Hill, South Johnson, Sycamore Lane, Wagram, and Carver all met expected growth this year.

Spring Hill Middle School demonstrated significant improvement in academic growth this year. While the school’s multi-year growth calculation was not yet enough to earn the state’s “Met” designation, this year’s results show strong movement in the right direction and provide encouraging momentum to build upon.

Growth and Proficiency Tell Different Parts of the Story

North Carolina School Performance Grades are calculated using two primary measures: 80% student achievement and 20% academic growth. While both measures are important, they provide different perspectives on student achievement.

Proficiency measures whether students meet designated achievement levels on state assessments, while growth measures the academic progress students make over time, regardless of where they began.

Scotland County Schools does not shy away from its proficiency data.

“We are not afraid of our data, and we own our results,” Baldwin said. “When the data tells us we need to improve, it is our responsibility to acknowledge that and do the work necessary to get better. That is the accountability piece of RISA.”

At the same time, district leaders believe student growth deserves greater consideration in the state's School Performance Grade formula.

“We would like to see growth account for a greater percentage of a school's performance grade because growth provides a broader picture of the learning that takes place in a classroom throughout the school year,” Baldwin said.

 “A proficiency score reflects how a student performs on a state assessment administered at a particular point in time. Growth helps us see how far that student has come because of the instruction, support, and relationships that happen every day in our schools.”

That distinction can be particularly important for students who begin the school year below grade-level expectations. A student may make significant academic progress during a school year and still not reach the state's proficiency threshold. While that progress may not be fully reflected in the proficiency component of the school's letter grade, it can be reflected in academic growth.

For Scotland County Schools, both measures matter: Proficiency shows where students need to be; growth helps show how far they have come, and this year’s results demonstrate that growth is happening. 

SCS Graduation Rate Tops State Average

Scotland County Schools' four-year cohort graduation rate increased from 90.7% to 91.2% in 2025 - 26.

The district's 91.2% graduation rate exceeds North Carolina's 88.8% rate by 2.4 percentage points.

Over the past four years, Scotland County Schools' graduation rate has increased 4.6 percentage points, reflecting continued progress in keeping students on track to earn a diploma and preparing them for their next steps after high school.

The comparison is especially significant in a year when North Carolina celebrated its highest four-year graduation rate in state history.

ACT Performance Makes Significant Gain

College and career readiness measures also showed encouraging progress. Districtwide, 11th-grade ACT composite performance increased by 7.5 points over the previous year.

Statewide, the average ACT composite score increased from 18.2 to 18.4, while the percentage of North Carolina 11th graders scoring 17 or higher increased from 54% to 55%.

Four Years of Progress

Perhaps the clearest picture of Scotland County Schools' progress comes from looking beyond any single year's results.

Since 2022 - 23, performance scores have increased from 34 to 47 at Sycamore Lane, 29 to 45 at Carver Middle School, 41 to 48 at Spring Hill Middle School, 53 to 63 at Scotland High School, and 83 to 94 at Scotland Early College. Laurel Hill has increased from 47 to 56 during that same period.

During that same period, Scotland County Schools has shown improvement in 32 of 34 tested areas, demonstrating that the district's progress is not isolated to one school, grade level, or subject.

North Carolina as a whole also experienced significant improvement in 2025 - 26. Statewide grade-level proficiency across all subjects increased from 55.0% in 2024 - 25 to 59.2% in 2025 - 26, the highest statewide composite of the past three years.

The gains in Scotland County reflect the district's continued focus on RISA - Relationships, Instruction, Safety, and Accountability. Rather than changing direction for the 2026 - 27 school year, Scotland County Schools is building upon that foundation through RISA 2.0: Turn Up the Volume, with an increased emphasis on strengthening the practices that are producing results while being equally intentional about addressing areas that still need improvement.

That commitment to looking openly at both successes and challenges is central to the Accountability component of RISA.

“As a Board, we are extremely proud of the progress taking place across Scotland County Schools,” said Board of Education Chair Rick Singletary. “These results represent years of hard work by our students, teachers, administrators, and staff, along with the continued support of our families and community. We also recognize that there is more work to be done, and we remain committed to supporting our superintendent and our schools as they continue this important work. What is most encouraging is that we are seeing sustained progress, and that tells us we are moving in the right direction.”

Preliminary district records also indicate that discipline incidents and the dropout rate continue to trend downward. Official data for those measures are expected in October, and the district will share additional information once those results are finalized.

“We are proud of the progress, but we know there is more work ahead,” Baldwin said. “RISA 2.0 is about building on the foundation we have established and turning up the volume on what works. We want stronger relationships, stronger instruction, safer schools and greater accountability. Most importantly, we want the progress we are seeing to reach every student in every classroom.”

Moving Forward

The 2025 - 26 results provide Scotland County Schools with both reasons to celebrate and a clear roadmap for continued improvement. District leaders say the focus will remain on accelerating student growth, increasing proficiency, and ensuring that the gains of recent years continue across every school and student group.

As Scotland County Schools begins the 2026 - 27 school year, RISA 2.0: Turn Up the Volume represents a commitment not to change the foundation that has helped drive the district's progress, but to strengthen it.

“We have momentum,” Baldwin said. “Now, we have to build on it.”