Sampson County’s two public school systems earned mixed report cards from the state this week, with some milestones achieved, solid growth shown in some areas and targeted challenges pointed out in several schools that fell at the bottom of the grading scale.
Sampson’s Early College High School got a mark of excellence this week when the state Department of Public Instruction released its annual Report Card for the 2024-25 school year. On the opposite end of the scale, Roseboro-Salemburg Middle School was given a grade of F and Sampson Middle, Union Elementary, Union Intermediate, Salemburg Elementary and Union Middle a D.
Despite the low marks in some schools, educators urged those reviewing the Report Card to view it as only one of many ways to measure the education children are getting.
And, based on the initial results from the DPI Report Card website, not yet fully dissected by local school systems, there appears to be more good news than bad overall, particularly in the county system, which saw 60 percent of its schools achieve grades of A, B or C and more than half meet or exceed their academic growth expectations.
“The school report cards show both the successes of our school district as well as the areas that still need growth,” noted Dr. Jamie King, superintendent for Sampson County Schools.
King pointed out that there was a lot of data to review, much of which was still being sorted through only a couple days after the Report Card’s release.
He also indicated that much of the data released in July with the Report Card was information the school systems had received much earlier and had been working on during the 2025-26 school year.
New data will be released in the fall for the past school year, but educators aren’t able to delve into those possible results until DPI releases its findings, likely in September.
As for this week’s release of Report Card data for 2024-25, King said, “It is always positive to see our students grow and show the incredible knowledge they learned during the school year. We also know that we are not there yet and will continue to work to provide professional development and coaching to our staff to ensure every student has a quality educator in their classroom. “
Perhaps most notably, the county system earned a high mark for its graduation rate,a district-wide 87 percent, a milestone, King said, that proved to be the highest in the system’s history.
In Clinton City, four of its five schools maintained a grade of C, with gains shown in reading and math scores across fifth, sixth and seventh grades, while fourth-grade reading scores grew.
Dr. Wesley Johnson, superintendent for Clinton City Schools, pointed out that grades given to Butler Avenue and L.C. Kerr Elementary are based on the grade given to Sunset Avenue Elementary School.
“They don’t get their own separate school grade,” Johnson explained. “For me, that’s very odd, but they carry the grade of Sunset. If Sunset gets a C, Butler Avenue and Kerr automatically get a C. It’s not based on their own data. At L.C. Kerr and Butler Avenue, they have M-class data, which is a literacy tool that North Carolina uses, but the School Report Card grades are based on EOG and EOC performances. Since we don’t have EOGS at kindergarten through second grade, that’s why Butler Avenue and L.C. Kerr have to carry the grade from Sunset.”
Johnson said he and other school officials were aware of the Report Card release from DPI last week, but said it wasn’t really new information.
“We have not received an email or anything from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction noting any updates to the Report Card,” he said. “The new information from this school year, 2025-26, cannot be released yet because it’s not finalized and will not be finalized until the September state Board of Education meeting.
“The more that Sheryl (Kimbro, Director of Testing and Accountability) and I talked about it, the only thing that we could come up with that might possibly be new on this release of the Report Card would be things regarding human resources, like teacher retention rate, but again, all of that would be from the 2024-25 school year.
“We’ve been focused on the 2025-26 school year,” said Johnson. “That data is now being processed by DPI and also SAS, a company in Raleigh that does all the growth information that we’re still yet to see. We don’t have that information for growth; probably won’t have it until mid-August, and then the state will do all of its final calculations for performance grades, and they’ll release that information in September for the past school year. Right now, we’re in a wait-and-see approach regarding the growth data. We do know what our performance data looks like, but we can’t share that information because it’s embargoed until the September board meeting.”
There were changes made, Johnson said, to address the 2024-25 grades given to them by the recently released Report Card.
“I do think that some of the calculated moves and adjustments made for this past school year paid off,” the superintendent explained. “I think that our community will see the gains that have been reached when our new data is revealed in September. I’m fully aware that our middle school received a D in 2024-25, and, as I said, we made some adjustments. We’re excited about our new principal (Kenan Lanier), who will start this year. I can tell you that we’re really excited about the performance of our middle school this past school year, but I can’t share that because of the data embargo.”
In the Report Card, released earlier this week, Sampson Early College High School achieved a grade of A (91), making it the highest-performing school in the entire district. Clement Elementary achieved a B and showed major improvement from its C (61) in 2023-24 to a B (73) in 2024-25, with a growth score of 89.2. Midway High School also showed notable growth with its B (72), up from a 70 (B) last year, with a growth increase to 73.9 percent.
Six county schools — Union Elementary, Union Intermediate, Union Middle, Hobbton Middle, Salemburg Elementary and Roseboro Elementary — scored a D, and Roseboro-Salemburg Middle was the lowest-performing school in the district with an F.
In the city schools system, Butler, Kerr and Sunset maintained a C grade with a slight tick up in performance from 59 to 60. Clinton High School also achieved a grade of C but saw a slight dip in performance from 58 to 57. Sampson Middle, with a D, was the lowest-performing school in the city district.
The preliminary results from the DPI Report Card, found on its website but not yet dissected by local school systems, measure school quality, student achievement and overall progress across several areas, including graduation rates, English learner progress, and career and college readiness, along with new science testing criteria.
A final letter grade is calculated using what educators say is a “strict, state-mandated mathematical formula that merges student achievement with student growth on an 80-20 split, with higher weight given to End-of-Grade testing than the progress (growth) students actually make during the year.
On the DPI website, it was noted that “parents and others should note that the information in the School Report Card, while important, cannot tell you the entire story about a school. Other important factors — the extra hours put in by teachers preparing for class and grading assignments, the school spirit felt by families, the involvement in sports, arts, or other extracurriculars — are crucial aspects of a school community, but are not reflected on the Report Card.”
State Schools Superintendent Dr. Mo Green reiterated that in his own prepared remarks. “While current law requires the reporting of these grades, I am confident that many believe, as I do, that our schools are far more than a single letter grade can capture. Every day, schools transform lives through college-level courses, career and technical education programs, arts instruction, social-emotional support and countless opportunities that prepare students for success but aren’t reflected in this formula,” Green said in a letter on the DPI site.
”A school that helps a student grow two grade levels in reading in a single year may still receive a low grade if that student hasn’t yet reached proficiency. This doesn’t tell the full story of that school’s impact. Indeed, while there is certainly room for improvement, please know that our educators and students are achieving remarkable things every day — from our historically high graduation rates, to record participation and performance on college-level Advanced Placement exams, to record numbers of industry credentials earned and other outstanding results.”
Green urged those reviewing the report card not to use it as a thermometer to judge schools, systems and particularly students, noting the Report Card is only one piece in the educational puzzle.
“That’s why our strategic plan calls for developing a more comprehensive accountability system. In November 2025, the State Board of Education established a task force to consider how to provide a more comprehensive picture of what is going on in our schools. Until the task force completes its work and potential changes can be implemented, I encourage you to look beyond the letter grade. Visit your schools. Talk with teachers and principals. Ask about student academic growth, not just proficiency. Learn about the programs and supports available and how our schools have the most National Board Certified Teachers in the entire country. See how your school serves as a community hub and center of care for children,” Green wrote.