Wake County students have surpassed pre-pandemic test scores in more subject areas, new data show.

Last year, students had surpassed their test scores only in math.

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The new data show that more students are, broadly, back on track academically after Covid-19 sent students home in 2020.

New standardized test results, released by the state Wednesday, once again show that the Wake County Public School System is outperforming most schools in the state in learning recovery, having suffered less learning loss to begin with during the pandemic. The district, as in prior years, is also outperforming the state in overall test scores.

The school system has tried to recover “learning lost” during remote schoolwork by conducting intensive tutoring of some students, adding instructional coaches and adding other support personnel, such as social workers, counselors and nurses.

Schools statewide have spent hundreds of millions of dollars the last few years on learning recovery efforts, but the temporary federal money used to fund those efforts runs dry Sept. 30.

The Wake County school system is using volunteers for many of its tutors, but not all of them. The system has kept some support personnel but had to shift the jobs of many other instructional personnel ahead of the funds drying up.

Here's a look at some of the results:

  • In third through eighth-grade reading, proficiency rose from 60.9% in spring 2023 to 61.6% this spring.
    • That’s down from 64.9% five years ago. But fourth grade and fifth grade reading had full rebounds above pre-pandemic levels.
  • In third through eighth-grade math, proficiency rose from 63.1% in spring 2023 to 64.9% this spring.
    • That’s less than it was five years ago, when it was 65.4%. But fourth through sixth grades saw full rebounds from five years ago.
  • Fifth grade science rebounded to 71.7% passing – up from 71.3% five years go and 70.3% in spring 2023.
  • In eighth grade science, proficiency is up from 76% in spring 2023 to 77.4% this spring.
    • That’s down from 82.4% five years ago.
  • In biology, proficiency dropped from 62% in spring 2023 to 61.6% this spring.
    • That’s down from 66.1% five years ago.
  • In English II, proficiency was about the same as last year – rising from 71.1% in spring 2023 to 71.2% this spring.
    • That’s up from 68.6% five years ago.
  • In Math 3, proficiency dropped from 71.4% in spring 2023 to 68.4% this spring.
    • That’s up from 53.5% five years ago.

    • "This is a watershed moment for our school district," Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor said in a news release Wednesday. "Just a few short years ago, we were mired in the uncertainty and learning disruptions caused by the pandemic. Now – thanks to the ingenuity, professionalism, and good old fashioned hard work of our teachers and staff – we have not only mostly recovered from the pandemic, we are on a trajectory toward a new level of excellence.

    "Let me be clear: we are by no means declaring victory. We still have a long way to go, particularly for our students of color and lower-income students. But today is a day to celebrate everything that our students, families and staff have accomplished in the face of adversity."