A sharpened focus around more effective instruction for students through strengthened teacher support and more meaningful family involvement has yielded a watershed moment for Durham Public Schools. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has reported tremendous – and, in some cases, historic – gains in student and school performance and proficiency for the 2025-26 school year.
Among key measures for district performance are proficiency and growth. Proficiency indicates that a student demonstrates sufficient understanding of grade-level content standards to be considered at grade level. Academic growth compares students' actual performance with expected performance based on their prior testing results.
Chief among the many significant gains made in academic growth across DPS last year include:
Of the district’s 55 schools participating in the state’s accountability program, 45 reported proficiency gains, and 38 reported that they Met or Exceeded Growth. (Two schools – The Lakeview School and the Durham Performance Learning Center – are assessed with a modified accountability system. Both schools were designated as “Succeeding.”)
For the first time since 2014, when the state began assigning letter grades as part of the North Carolina School Report Card accountability assessment, DPS reports that NO schools have been given an “F” School Performance Grade. Two DPS schools received that designation for the prior year.
More than two-thirds of the district’s schools assessed (36 of 53) were given letter grades of A, B, or C. Of those, 16 schools were given an A or B. Three schools moved from a C to a B letter grade, and eight schools moved from D to C. (The Lakeview School, Durham Performance Learning Center, The Whitted School, and Hospital School do not receive publicly reported School Performance Grades.)
There was a gain of 4.8 percentage points in overall proficiency since last year to 53.2 percent this year.
Excluding the pandemic-disrupted 2020-21 comparison, this was the largest year-over-year increase since 2013-14.
There were proficiency gains in Reading, Math, and Science across all tested grade levels.
Science proficiency increased by 9.1 percentage points from 2024-25.
Proficiency increased in four of four reported EOC measures.
Nearly 70 percent of all schools earned a grade of A, B, or C (67.9 percent), an increase of 11.3 percentage points.
The district has now surpassed the proficiency levels we had achieved pre-COVID, or 4.2 percentage points above the 2018-19 school year. This is the highest proficiency level since the 2013-14 school year.
One fewer school was designated a “Low-Performing” school than the previous year (down to 16 from 17). Six schools moved out of “Low-Performing” status; however, five schools moved into “Low-Performing” status.
The district’s ACT/ACT WorkKeys score was 54.9 percent, an increase of 9.6 percentage points from the previous year.
Eleven schools rank in the top 20 percent of the state’s 2,583 schools for growth.
Specific to schools, the City of Medicine Academy ranked number 14 and J.D. Clement Early College ranked number 98 in the state.
View more information regarding school performance by district and by school.
“We are extremely pleased with the outstanding results – some unprecedented – toward which our scholars, teachers, families, and community have worked so extraordinarily well together to achieve for the 2025-26 school year,” said Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis. “We thank and applaud the Durham community for standing with us in a heartening show of strength and support as we continue to pursue and increase academic excellence for all students.”
Schools will share their specific information with parents and families in the coming weeks to discuss their data, answer questions, and share plans for continued achievement.
Making the ‘DPS Difference’ – Focus and intent around support for students and teachers
There might be as many reasons for the significant performance gains as there are hardworking students and teachers who enter our doors every day, along with the many dedicated staff members who support them. Setting increasingly higher expectations for students while intentionally strengthening support for our teachers and staff has been crucial to these exemplary results.
We begin the 2026-27 school year with a renewed commitment to providing the best for our students and staff. Taking what we have learned over the past several years to achieve our goals will inform how we set higher goals for the future.
“This is a most exciting time to be working in Durham Public Schools. We will be looking more closely at the achievements we have realized to better understand the most impactful practices that produced them, then work together to take our success even further,” Dr. Lewis said. “This dedication and continuance improvement is just a part of the DPS Difference, and it’s going to produce an exceptional 2026-27 school year.”
Specifically, the district can point to the following areas of focus over the last several years, among others:
Identifying and addressing the individual needs of students. Our educators meet students where they are academically and tailor specific strategies to help them achieve grade-level proficiency and beyond. This requires pinpoint precision in analyzing individual student performance data such as benchmark tests to identify opportunities for growth. It also involves classroom observations and adapting instruction accordingly.
Paying ever closer attention to the social and emotional needs of students. DPS staff seek positive, nonpunitive ways to help students understand and manage their emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. This sometimes involves reaching out to families and community partners to ensure that students are receiving the best support possible.
Providing the best possible professional development for educators, allowing them time to work more closely together, share their ideas for better classroom instruction, and support each other, while also encouraging them to become leaders in their own right.
Bolstering schools’ endeavors to reach out to families via more intentional and effective communication between and among teachers, families, and administrators, and by providing families with tangible resources and inviting them into schools to learn how they can better support their students.
Continually utilizing the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), which is a systematic problem-solving model that takes into consideration multiple pieces of information to determine how all students are responding to classroom instruction. This system layers academics, attendance, behavior, and social and emotional support for students. Teachers, counselors, administrators, and families work in tandem to ensure that these supports are in place.
Broadening access to Advanced Placement classes for all students and strengthening support for both students and teachers. Our ongoing efforts have produced significant gains in AP course participation and exam performance across the district for the last two school years. When data was disaggregated among Black students, Hispanic students, and white students for the last three years, both participation and performance increased across the board.
The DPS Growing Together Initiative expanded to middle and high school programs for the 2025-26 school year. This initiative expanded year-round school access for middle school students; added Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programming through middle school, with aligned language courses continuing in high school; and added Montessori-grounded programs to an additional elementary and middle school.
We increased support for our popular and successful Application and CTE offerings. These programs offer specialized instructional options in areas such as Montessori, International Baccalaureate (IB), Dual Language Immersion, STEM, and Visual/Performing Arts. CTE programs help students develop skills that are specific to certain career areas, such as health sciences, architecture, information technology, culinary arts, automotive technology, and Cisco network engineering, among many others.
DPS enjoys numerous partnerships with community businesses, nonprofit organizations, and local higher education institutions, including Duke University, North Carolina Central University, and Durham Technical Community College. These partnerships provide human and material resources to support our work. Duke, NCCU and Durham Tech support several of our schools and provide the opportunity for students to graduate from DPS with college credit of up to two years. Duke Health also has a partnership with the Durham Early College of Health Sciences that includes a commitment to hiring 50 to 60 of its graduates each year.
We are grateful to the many volunteers who support our educators on a daily basis. They serve as tutors, classroom assistants, playground assistants, chaperones for field trips, and so much more.
Join us for the Superintendent’s State of the District Address on September 22
The community will have the opportunity to hear more about how Dr. Lewis seeks to build on the success that our students, teachers, families, and the community have achieved. Join Dr. Lewis for the 2026 State of the District Address on Tuesday, Sept. 22, as we celebrate our progress, showcase the DPS Difference, and look ahead to the priorities and opportunities shaping the future of Durham Public Schools.
This event, which is sponsored by the DPS Foundation, is free and open to the public. Registration is open through Wednesday, Sept. 16. Interpretation services will be provided.
Superintendent’s State of the District Address
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 6 p.m.
Northern High School
4622 N. Roxboro Road, Durham, NC 27704
Superintendent establishes expectations for DPS staff in 2026-27
Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis has established six expectations for all DPS staff, and for which he requests support from DPS families, partners, and the broader community. They are as follows:
We promote high levels of learning. We ensure rigorous, grade-level instruction, aligned curriculum, and meaningful learning experiences in every classroom so every student can achieve academic growth.
We strive for excellence as a standard. We hold high expectations for student learning, professional practice, and service in every school and department – every day, without exception.
We own our work and our outcomes. Each of us is accountable for our actions, decisions, and results. When challenges arise, we take responsibility, seek solutions, and follow through.
We communicate clearly, respectfully, and promptly. We respond to families, students, colleagues, and community members in a timely, professional manner. Every voice matters.
We act with transparency and integrity. We are open and honest in our decision-making, share information appropriately, and explain the “why” behind our work.
We work together to serve students. We collaborate across roles, schools, and departments, putting students and families at the center of every decision we make.