JCS High School ABCs Scores Continue to Climb SMITHFIELD-- Two Johnston County Schools high schools have earned School of Distinction status, and six of seven high schools in Johnston County met expected growth, maintaining an upward trend in performance, according to Keith Beamon, Associate Superintendent of the district's Curriculum and Instruction program. North and West Johnston high schools are two of the only 25 high schools in the state that earned the status of Distinction. Additionally, the state requires a change ratio (C-ratio) of 1.5 in order to meet expected growth; North Johnston's C-ratio is 4.88, three times the requirement and the seventh highest among the 300 high schools in the state. "Our high school scores demonstrate that proficiency levels are not the entire story. Growth tells us just how good the teaching is in those classrooms," said Beamon. He noted that innovative programs that have been implemented. At North Johnston, for example, quarterly assessments were used consistently last year, and will continue to be utilized as a strategy. This year, other high schools in the district have begun using the same strategy. North Johnston also adopted the concept of professional learning communities and hosted training on that topic for its certified staff. An in-school remediation program also paid off, said Beamon. "Our high school scores are reflective of the excellent teaching practices in those schools," said Dr. Anthony Parker, Superintendent. "We are very pleased and proud of our continuous progress and achievement." *The status of each of the county's high schools can be found by copying the following link and pasting it into your internet browser: http://abcs.ncpublicschools.org/abcs/abcVol1List.jsp?pYear=2005-2006&pSchName=Johnston *Princeton School's scores are not yet included due to its K-12 status.
