By Sarah Nagem
Salisbury Post
If North Rowan High School has an image problem, test scores and graduation rates might point to why.
During the 2006-2007 school year, North Rowan High came in last place in the county in English I and Algebra I end-of-grade test scores.
Salisbury High came in 16 percentage points ahead of North Rowan in English I scores. The math gap was even wider ń Salisbury High was 35 percentage points ahead.
Last year, North Rowan had the lowest percentage of students who graduated with a regular diploma in four years or less. At North, the number was about 69 percent ó just below Salisbury’s 70.7 percent.
But as most teachers would say, those things don’t tell the whole story.
North Rowan tops the list of the county’s six high schools when it comes to the number of computers per students. Fewer students have to share computers at North.
And North Rowan’s teachers aren’t jumping ship when things are bad. Last school year, the school’s teacher-turnover rate was 20 percentage points behind South Rowan.