Haywood County Superintendent of Schools Marlon King recently addressed the school board about the system’s 2009 Report Card. What’s new this year is the change in the state’s grading system that on the local level, translated last year’s B’s to D’s this year.

In third through eighth grade, the TCAP scores were 42 in math, social studies and science and a 44 in reading/language. These scores are graded as “D’s” compared to scores of 50 (a grade of “B”) in all four areas as the state average.

According to the state, the 2009 baseline provides a fixed transition point prior to the 2009-2010 school year implementations of the new curriculum and assessments more reflective of national and international student performance in the 21st century. The 2009 achievement scores and all grades connected with these scores are considered the new baseline for future public reporting. These converted achievement scores and grades are based on restructured calculations and a redefined grade scale that are updated to reflect the current status of educational attainment in the state. Because of these changes, for 2009 only, most appropriate and meaningful comparison will be to state level data.

The Haywood County School System’s enrollment is up this year with 3,296 enrolled in November compared to 3,189 last year. Also interesting is that the local school system has an $8,202 per pupil expenditure compared to the state’s average of $8,518. In Haywood County, 23.4 percent of the school’s funding comes from local money, 13.9 percent comes from federal funds, and 62.6 percent comes from state funds.