This year was the first time that North Carolina schools received a grade for their performance. The North Carolina General Assembly created the grading system in 2013, see North Carolina General Statute § 115C-83.15.

The A-F grades measure a school’s success in achievement and growth, but the results heavily rely on the former – 80 percent achievement and 20 percent growth.

The grades are determined using a 15-point scale where 85 to 100 is an A, and so on down the scale. The grades were supposed to move to a 10-point scale after this year, but legislation passed by the General Assembly this session will keep it at the 15-point scale for the time being.

Other proposals seeking to change the weight given to growth versus achievement have, so far, failed to gain traction.

The below articles look at the 17 schools with 50 percent or more free-and-reduced-price lunch students that received As.