GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 488
Short Title: Modify School Performance Grades. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Riddell, Rhyne, Paré, and Johnson-Hostler (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Education - K-12, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
March 25, 2025
*H488 -v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO MODIFY SCH OOL PERFORMANCE GRAD ES TO PROVIDE THAT ALL 2
SCHOOLS RECEIVE A GRADE FOR SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT AND A GRADE F OR 3
SCHOOL GROWTH. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
6
PART I. ESTABLISH SEPARATE ACHIEVEMENT A ND GROWTH GRADES 7
SECTION 1.1. G.S. 115C-12(9) reads as rewritten: 8
"(9) Miscellaneous Powers and Duties. – All the powers and duties exercised by 9
the State Board of Education shall be in conformity with the Constitution and 10
subject to such laws as may be enacted from time to time by the General 11
Assembly. Among such duties are: 12
… 13
c1. To issue an annual "report card" for the State and for each local school 14
administrative unit, assessing each unit's efforts to improve student 15
performance based on the growth in performance of the students in 16
each school and taking into account progress over the previous years' 17
level of performance and the State's performance in comparison with 18
other states. This assessment shall take into account factors that have 19
been shown to affect student performance and that the State Board 20
considers relevant to assess the State's efforts to improve student 21
performance. The annual "report card" for each local school 22
administrative unit shall include the following: 23
1. The State Board shall award, in accordance with 24
G.S. 115C-83.15, an overall numerical school achievement, 25
growth, and performance score on a scale of zero to 100 26
achievement and school growth scores and a separate 27
corresponding performance school achievement and school 28
growth letter grade grades of A, B, C, D, or F earned by each 29
school within the local school administrative unit. The school 30
performance score and grade achievement and growth scores 31
and grades shall reflect the measures required for achievement 32
and growth, respectively, by G.S. 115C-83.15, in measures 33
such as student performance on annual subject-specific 34
assessments, college and workplace readiness measures, 35 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 488-First Edition
graduation rates, and student progress in achieving English 1
language proficiency. In addition, the State Board shall award 2
separate performance scores and grades for the following: 3
I. School performance achievement and school growth of 4
certain subgroups of students as provided in 5
G.S. 115C-83.15. 6
II. For schools serving students in any grade from 7
kindergarten to eighth grade, school achievement and 8
school growth performance in reading and mathematics 9
respectively. 10
…." 11
SECTION 1.2. G.S. 115C-47(58) reads as rewritten: 12
"(58) To Inform the Public About the North Carolina School Report Cards Issued 13
by the State Board of Education. – Each local board of education shall ensure 14
that the report card issued for it by the State Board of Education receives wide 15
distribution to the local press or is otherwise provided to the public. Each local 16
board of education shall ensure that the overall school performance score 17
achievement and growth scores and grade grades earned by each school in the 18
local school administrative unit for the current and previous four school years 19
is are prominently displayed on the Web site of the local school administrative 20
unit. If any school in the local school administrative unit earned an overall a 21
school performance achievement or growth grade of D or F, the local board 22
of education shall provide notice of the grade in writing to the parent or 23
guardian of all students enrolled in that school." 24
SECTION 1.3. G.S. 115C-83.15 reads as rewritten: 25
"§ 115C-83.15. School achievement, growth, performance scores, achievement scores, 26
growth scores, and grades. 27
(a) School Scores and Grades. – The State Board of Education shall award school 28
achievement, growth, and performance achievement and school growth scores and an associated 29
performance grade grades as required by G.S. 115C-12(9)c1., and calculated as provided in this 30
section. 31
… 32
(b1) Calculation of School Achievement Grades. – For all schools, the score for school 33
achievement, as provided in subsection (b) of this section, shall be used to determine the school 34
achievement grade. The school achievement grade shall be based on the following scale and shall 35
not be modified to add any other designation related to other performance measures, such as a 36
"plus" or "minus": 37
(1) A score of at least 85 is equivalent to a school achievement grade of A. 38
(2) A score of at least 70 is equivalent to a school achievement grade of B. 39
(3) A score of at least 55 is equivalent to a school achievement grade of C. 40
(4) A score of at least 40 is equivalent to a school achievement grade of D. 41
(5) A score of less than 40 is equivalent to a school achievement grade of F. 42
(c) Calculation of the School Growth Score. – Using the Education Value-Added 43
Assessment System (EVAAS), the State Board shall calculate the overall growth score earned 44
by schools. In calculating the total growth score earned by schools, the State Board of Education 45
shall weight student growth on the achievement measures as provided in subsection (b) of this 46
section that have available growth values; provided that for schools serving students in grades 47
nine through 12, the growth score shall only include growth values for measures calculated under 48
sub-subdivisions a. and b. of subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of this section. The numerical 49
values used to determine whether a school has met, exceeded, or has not met expected growth 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 488-First Edition Page 3
shall be translated to a 100-point scale and used for school reporting purposes as provided in 1
G.S. 115C-12(9)c1., 115C-218.65, 115C-238.66, and 116-239.8. 2
(c1) Calculation of School Growth Grades. – For all schools, the score for school growth, 3
as provided in subsection (c) of this section, shall be converted by the State Board of Education 4
to a 100-point scale and used to determine the school growth grade. The school growth grade 5
shall be based on the following scale and shall not be modified to add any other designation 6
related to other performance measures, such as a "plus" or "minus": 7
(1) A score of at least 90 is equivalent to a school growth grade of A. 8
(2) A score of at least 80 is equivalent to a school growth grade of B. 9
(3) A score of at least 70 is equivalent to a school growth grade of C. 10
(4) A score of at least 60 is equivalent to a school growth grade of D. 11
(5) A score of less than 60 is equivalent to a school growth grade of F. 12
(d) Calculation of the Overall School Performance Scores and Grades. – The State Board 13
of Education shall calculate the overall school performance score by adding the school 14
achievement score, as provided in subsection (b) of this section, and the school growth score, as 15
determined using EVAAS as provided in subsection (c) of this section, earned by a school. The 16
school achievement score shall account for eighty percent (80%), and the school growth score 17
shall account for twenty percent (20%) of the total sum. For all schools, the total school 18
performance score shall be converted to a 100-point scale and used to determine an overall school 19
performance grade. The overall school performance grade shall be based on the following scale 20
and shall not be modified to add any other designation related to other performance measures, 21
such as a "plus" or "minus": 22
(1) A school performance score of at least 85 is equivalent to an overall school 23
performance grade of A. 24
(2) A school performance score of at least 70 is equivalent to an overall school 25
performance grade of B. 26
(3) A school performance score of at least 55 is equivalent to an overall school 27
performance grade of C. 28
(4) A school performance score of at least 40 is equivalent to an overall school 29
performance grade of D. 30
(5) A school performance score of less than 40 points is equivalent to an overall 31
school performance grade of F. 32
(d1) Establishment of Subgroups of Students. – The State Board shall establish the 33
minimum number of students in a subgroup served by a school that is necessary to disaggregate 34
information on student performance and to determine a subgroup performance score achievement 35
and subgroup growth scores and grade associated grades for the following subgroups of students: 36
(1) Economically disadvantaged students. 37
(2) Students from major racial and ethnic groups. 38
(3) Children with disabilities. 39
(4) English learners. 40
(d2) Calculation of the School Performance Scores and Achievement and School Growth 41
Scores and Corresponding Grades for Certain Subgroups of Students Served by a School. – In 42
addition to the overall school performance achievement and school growth scores and 43
corresponding grades awarded under subsections (b) through (c1) of this section, for each school 44
that serves a minimum number of students in a subgroup of students listed in subsection (d1) of 45
this section, the State Board of Education shall calculate school performance achievement and 46
school growth scores and shall determine a corresponding school performance grade grades for 47
each subgroup using the same method as set forth in subsection (d) subsections (b) through (c1) 48
of this section. School performance achievement and school growth scores for subgroups of 49
students shall not be included in the calculation of the overall school performance achievement 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 4 House Bill 488-First Edition
and school growth scores and corresponding grades under subsection (d) subsections (b) through 1
(c1) of this section. 2
(d3) Report of Subgroup Performance Scores and School Achievement and School 3
Growth Scores and Corresponding Grades. – The subgroup performance school achievement and 4
school growth scores and associated grades shall be reported separately on the annual school 5
report card provided under G.S. 115C-12(9)c1., 115C-218.65, 115C-238.66, and 116-239.8 in a 6
way that provides the following information: 7
(1) For the current year and the previous two years, the achievement score for 8
each subgroup of students defined in subsection (d1) of this section for the 9
school. 10
(2) The statewide average achievement score for each subgroup defined in 11
subsection (d1) of this section. 12
(3) The difference between the achievement score for all students in the school 13
and the achievement score for each subgroup that meets the minimum number 14
of students defined in subsection (d1) of this section. 15
(4) Based on the information reported in subdivision (3) of this subsection, the 16
State Board shall determine and identify schools that are closing achievement 17
gaps, experiencing a widening of gaps, or seeing no significant gap changes. 18
… 19
(f) Indication of Growth. – In addition to awarding the overall school scores for 20
achievement, growth, and performance and the performance grade, achievement and growth and 21
associated grades, using EVAAS, the State Board shall designate that a school has met, exceeded, 22
or has not met expected growth. The designation of student growth shall be clearly displayed in 23
the annual school report card provided under G.S. 115C-12(9)c1., 115C-218.65, 115C-238.66, 24
and 116-239.8. 25
(g) Access to Annual Report Card Information on the Department's Web Site. – 26
Beginning with data collected in the 2017-2018 school year, the State Board of Education shall 27
provide user-friendly access to the public on the annual report cards issued for local school 28
administrative units and individual schools provided under G.S. 115C-12(9)c1., 115C-218.65, 29
115C-238.66, and 116-239.8 through the Department of Public Instruction's Web site. The annual 30
report card shall be designed and organized to display the following information more 31
prominently than any other information: 32
(1) A summary for each local school administrative unit and for each individual 33
school of the school performance achievement and growth grades, whether 34
the school has met, exceeded, or has not met expected growth, and any other 35
information required to be provided as part of the annual report card. 36
(2) The percentage of schools receiving an overall a school performance 37
achievement letter grade of A, B, C, D, or F earned by each school located 38
within a local school administrative unit and statewide. 39
(2a) The percentage of schools receiving a school growth letter grade of A, B, C, 40
D, or F earned by each school located within a local school administrative unit 41
and statewide. 42
(3) The number and percentage of schools that have met, exceeded, or have not 43
met expected growth by each school located within a local school 44
administrative unit and statewide. 45
(4) A Web page for each individual school that prominently displays the school's 46
performance achievement and growth grades, whether the school has met, 47
exceeded, or has not met expected growth, and the school's performance 48
achievement and growth scores in a way that is easy for the user to read. 49
(5) The ability to easily compare annual report card information, including school 50
performance achievement and growth grades and whether schools have met, 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 488-First Edition Page 5
exceeded, or have not met expected growth, for local school administrative 1
units and for individual schools for a time span of at least three years." 2
SECTION 1.4. G.S. 115C-83.17 reads as rewritten: 3
"§ 115C-83.17. Definitions. 4
The following definitions apply in this Part: 5
(1) Achievement score. – A numerical score on a scale of zero to 100 that is based 6
on the sum of points earned by a school or by a subgroup of students pursuant 7
to G.S. 115C-83.15. 8
(2) Growth score. – A numerical score measuring student growth calculated for a 9
school or for a subgroup of students pursuant to G.S. 115C-83.15. 10
(3) Overall school performance grade. School grades. – The letter grade grades 11
earned by a school for achievement and growth for all students served by a 12
school pursuant to G.S. 115C-83.15(d).G.S. 115C-83.15(b1) and (c1). 13
(4) Overall school performance score. School scores. – The numerical score 14
scores earned by a school that is calculated by adding the school achievement 15
score and the school growth score earned by a school for achievement and 16
growth pursuant to G.S. 115C-83.15(d).G.S. 115C-83.15(b) and (c). 17
(5) Subgroup performance grade. grades. – The letter grade grades earned by a 18
school for achievement and growth for a subgroup of students served by the 19
school pursuant to G.S. 115C-83.15(d2). 20
(6) Subgroup performance score. scores. – The numerical score scores earned by 21
a school that is calculated by adding the for subgroup achievement score and 22
the subgroup growth score earned by a school that are converted to a 100-point 23
scale pursuant to G.S. 115C-83.15(d2)." 24
25
PART II. CONFORMING CHANGES 26
SECTION 2.1. G.S. 115C-83.16 reads as rewritten: 27
"§ 115C-83.16. School performance indicators for the purpose of compliance with federal 28
law. 29
(a) The State Board of Education shall use the school performance achievement and 30
growth scores and grades as calculated required under G.S. 115C-83.15 to satisfy the federal 31
requirement under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the 32
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), P.L. 114-95, to meaningfully differentiate the performance 33
of schools on an annual basis. For the purpose of compliance with federal law, the State Board 34
of Education shall calculate the overall school performance score by adding the school 35
achievement score and the school growth score earned by a school. The school achievement score 36
shall account for eighty percent (80%), and the school growth score shall account for twenty 37
percent (20%) of the total sum. Additionally, the indicators shall be defined as follows: 38
… 39
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section and only for the purpose of conforming 40
with ESSA, the State Board may label measures as indicators different from those described in 41
subsection (a) of this section; provided that each measure shall be calculated in accordance with 42
the requirements of G.S. 115C-83.15.section." 43
SECTION 2.2. G.S. 115C-105.37 reads as rewritten: 44
"§ 115C-105.37. Identification of low-performing schools. 45
(a) Identification of Low-Performing Schools. – The State Board of Education shall 46
identify low-performing schools on an annual basis. Low-performing schools are those that earn 47
an overall a school performance achievement grade of D or F and a school growth score of "met 48
expected growth" or "not met expected growth" as defined by G.S. 115C-83.15. 49
(a1) Plan for Improvement of Low-Performing Schools. – If a school has been identified 50
as low-performing as provided in this section and the school is not located in a local school 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 6 House Bill 488-First Edition
administrative unit identified as low-performing under G.S. 115C-105.39A, the following 1
actions shall be taken: 2
(1) The superintendent shall proceed under G.S. 115C-105.39. 3
(2) Within 30 days of the initial identification of a school as low-performing by 4
the State Board, the superintendent shall submit to the local board of education 5
a preliminary plan for improving both the school performance grade and 6
school growth score, grades, including how the superintendent and other 7
central office administrators will work with the school and monitor the 8
school's progress. 9
… 10
(b) Parental Notice of Low-Performing School Status. – Each school that the State Board 11
identifies as low-performing shall provide written notification to the parents and guardians of 12
students attending that school within 30 days of the identification that includes the following 13
information: 14
(1) A statement that the State Board of Education has found that the school has 15
earned an overall a school performance achievement grade of D or F and a 16
school growth score of "met expected growth" or "not met expected growth" 17
and has been identified as a low-performing school as defined by 18
G.S. 115C-105.37. this section. The statement shall include an explanation of 19
the school performance grades and growth scores.achievement and growth 20
scores and grades. 21
(2) The school performance grade and growth score achievement and growth 22
scores and grades earned. 23
(3) Information about the preliminary plan developed under subsection (a1) of 24
this section and the availability of the final plan on the local school 25
administrative unit's Web site. 26
(4) The meeting date for when the preliminary plan will be considered by the local 27
board of education. 28
(5) A description of any additional steps the school is taking to improve student 29
performance." 30
SECTION 2.3. G.S. 115C-105.39A reads as rewritten: 31
"§ 115C-105.39A. Identification of low-performing local school administrative units. 32
(a) Identification of Low-Performing Local School Administrative Units. – The State 33
Board of Education shall identify low-performing local school administrative units on an annual 34
basis. A low-performing local school administrative unit is a unit in which the majority of the 35
schools in that unit that earned an overall school performance grade and school growth score 36
achievement and growth scores and grades as provided in G.S. 115C-83.15 have been identified 37
as low-performing schools, as provided in G.S. 115C-105.37. 38
(b) Plan for Improvement of Low-Performing Local School Administrative Units. – Once 39
a local school administrative unit has been identified as low-performing under this section, the 40
following actions shall be taken: 41
(1) The superintendent shall proceed under G.S. 115C-105.39. 42
(2) Within 30 days of the identification of a local school administrative unit as 43
low-performing by the State Board, the superintendent shall submit to the 44
local board of education a preliminary plan for improving both the school 45
performance grade and school growth score achievement and growth scores 46
and grades of each low-performing school in the unit, including how the 47
superintendent and other central office administrators will work with each 48
low-performing school and monitor the low-performing school's progress and 49
how current local school administrative unit policy should be changed to 50
improve student achievement throughout the local school administrative unit. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 488-First Edition Page 7
The plan shall also include specific strategies to improve early childhood 1
learning along with measurable goals. 2
… 3
(c) Parental Notice of Low-Performing Local School Administrative Unit Status. – Each 4
local school administrative unit that the State Board identifies as low-performing shall provide 5
written notification to the parents and guardians of all students attending any school in the local 6
school administrative unit within 30 days of the identification that includes the following 7
information: 8
(1) A statement that the State Board of Education has found that a majority of the 9
schools in the local school administrative unit have earned an overall a school 10
performance achievement grade of D or F and a school growth score of "met 11
expected growth" or "not met expected growth" and have been identified as 12
low-performing schools as defined by G.S. 115C-105.37. The statement shall 13
also include an explanation of the school performance grades and school 14
growth scores.achievement and growth scores and grades. 15
(2) The percentage of schools identified as low-performing. 16
(3) Information about the preliminary plan developed under subsection (b) of this 17
section and the availability of the final plan on the local school administrative 18
unit's Web site. 19
(4) The meeting date for when the preliminary plan will be considered by the local 20
board of education. 21
(5) A description of any additional steps the local school administrative unit and 22
schools are taking to improve student performance. 23
(6) For notifications sent to parents and guardians of students attending a school 24
that is identified as low-performing under G.S. 115C-105.37, a statement that 25
the State Board of Education has found that the school has earned an overall 26
a school performance achievement grade of D or F and a school growth score 27
of "met expected growth" or "not met expected growth" and has been 28
identified as a low-performing school as defined by G.S. 115C-105.37. This 29
notification also shall include the overall school performance grade and school 30
growth score the school achievement and growth scores and grades earned 31
and an explanation of the school performance grades and school growth 32
scores.achievement and growth scores and grades." 33
SECTION 2.4. G.S. 115C-218.65 reads as rewritten: 34
"§ 115C-218.65. North Carolina School Report Cards. 35
A charter school shall ensure that the report card issued for it by the State Board of Education 36
receives wide distribution to the local press or is otherwise provided to the public. A charter 37
school shall ensure that the overall school performance score achievement and growth scores and 38
grade grades earned by the charter school for the current and previous four school years is are 39
prominently displayed on the school Web site. If a charter school earned an overall a school 40
performance achievement or growth grade of D or F, the charter school shall provide notice of 41
the grade in writing to the parent or guardian of all students enrolled in that school." 42
SECTION 2.5. G.S. 115C-218.94(a) reads as rewritten: 43
"(a) Identification of Low-Performing Charter Schools. – The State Board of Education 44
shall identify low-performing charter schools on an annual basis. Low-performing charter 45
schools are those that earn an overall a school performance achievement grade of D or F and a 46
school growth score of "met expected growth" or "not met expected growth" as defined by 47
G.S. 115C-83.15." 48
SECTION 2.6. G.S. 115C-238.66(11) reads as rewritten: 49
"(11) North Carolina School Report Cards. – A regional school shall ensure that the 50
report card issued for it by the State Board of Education receives wide 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 8 House Bill 488-First Edition
distribution to the local press or is otherwise provided to the public. A regional 1
school shall ensure that the overall school performance score achievement and 2
growth scores and grade grades earned by the regional school for the current 3
and previous four school years is are prominently displayed on the school Web 4
site. If a regional school earned an overall a school performance achievement 5
or growth grade of D or F, the regional school shall provide notice of the grade 6
in writing to the parent or guardian of all students enrolled in that school." 7
SECTION 2.7. G.S. 116-239.8(b)(14) reads as rewritten: 8
"(14) North Carolina school report cards. – A laboratory school shall ensure that the 9
report card issued for it by the State Board of Education receives wide 10
distribution to the local press or is otherwise provided to the public. A 11
laboratory school shall ensure that the overall school performance score 12
achievement and growth scores and grade grades earned by the laboratory 13
school for the current and previous four school years is are prominently 14
displayed on the school Web site. If a laboratory school earned an overall a 15
school performance achievement or growth grade of D or F, the laboratory 16
school shall provide notice of the grade in writing to the parent or guardian of 17
all students enrolled in that school." 18
SECTION 2.8. G.S. 116-239.13(3) reads as rewritten: 19
"(3) Public school student achievement data, including school performance grades 20
and student achievement scores and student growth, achievement and growth 21
scores and grades at each laboratory school." 22
23
PART III. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILI TY CLAUSE 24
SECTION 3. This act becomes effective January 1, 2026, and applies to school 25
achievement grades, growth grades, and report cards issued based on data from the 2025-2026 26
school year. 27