RALEIGH, N.C. (NCN News) – New numbers from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction show a record high graduation rate and improvements in other key academic areas.
The four-year cohort graduation rate rose to 88.8% in 2025-26, up from a record 87.8% in the previous year, thereby marking a new historic high. This graduation rate moves North Carolina’s public schools closer to reaching a “Best in Nation Measure” as identified in the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (NCDPI) strategic plan, Achieving Educational Excellence.
“These academic achievement results are a testament to the incredible work happening across North Carolina’s public schools,” North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice “Mo” Green said in a release announcing the results. “While I am pleased to see these results trending positively, including our highest graduation rate ever, I look forward to continued progress as we aim to achieve educational excellence for all North Carolina public school students and become the best public education system in the nation.”
The all-subject and all-grade composite score for end-of-grade (EOG) and end-of-course (EOC) assessments reported 59.2% of students proficient – the highest in the past three years.
The percentage of students who were grade level proficient, the designation given to a score of a 3, 4 or 5 on EOG and EOC exams, was also the highest in the past three years for 14 of 15 reading and mathematics tests. Additionally, results for all race and ethnicity subgroups were the highest of the past three years, reflecting both progress across the full range of North Carolina’s student population and the need for continued improvement.
College and career ready, the designation given to a score of 4 or 5 on EOG and EOC exams, also improved to 37.5% of students, up from 34.7% in 2024-25. Overall college and career ready results improved on 16 of 18 total tests administered in 2025-26. The two exams that were not the highest in college and career ready results were reading for grades 3 and 4.
Science proficiency also saw notable gains, led by a striking jump in biology. Proficiency in biology rose from 48% in 2024-25 to 59% in 2025-26, an 11-percentage-point increase in a single year. Science proficiency in grades 5 and 8 improved as well over the past two years.
English Language learners saw continued gains as well. The percentage of total students making progress or exiting reached its highest point in the past three years to 36%, an increase of nine points from 27% in 2023-24.
The average ACT composite score for 11th graders increased to 18.4, with 55% of students scoring a 17 or higher, the minimum score for admission to a university within the University of North Carolina system. This year’s results include a one-time correction that increased scores: ACT identified a technical scoring issue in its spring 2026 online, school-day testing and rescored all affected exams nationwide. Because this year’s composite includes those one-time increases, NCDPI will monitor how this year’s ACT results compare with future years as part of its ongoing trend analysis.
While ACT WorkKeys participation has increased to 52,623 students, an increase of 11% since 2024, the percentage of students earning a silver or higher certificate has decreased slightly to 59% overall compared to 60% in the 2023-24 academic year. Nearly all subgroups experienced decreases.
School Performance Grades continued to trend upward this year, with more schools earning an A, B or C, and fewer earning a D or F rating. These grades are based on student achievement, growth on state assessments and English learner progress at all grade levels. The ACT, ACT WorkKeys, math course rigor and graduation rates are also factored in for high schools. The percentage of schools labeled D or F dropped to 23% in 2025-26, down from 31% the previous year. As a result, 162 fewer schools were designated low-performing in 2025-26 compared to the year before, and nearly 100 fewer schools were designated continually low-performing over the same span. Only 10 districts were designated low-performing this year, 13 fewer than in 2024-25 and the fewest since 2018-19.
“It is promising to see this continued improvement in student achievement in the 2025-26 accountability results,” NCDPI Chief Accountability Officer Dr. Michael Maher said. “From graduation rates to EOG and EOC scores and school performance grades, students and educators across North Carolina should be proud of this progress. At the same time, these results alone do not capture the full breadth of the important work happening in our public schools. The work of the Accountability Task Force gives us an opportunity to consider additional measures that, alongside academic achievement, can provide a more complete picture of student progress and how well schools are preparing students for what comes next.”