Richmond County Schools showed progress over the last school year in student achievement, marking a milestone that has only happened one other time in the school district’s history.

According to accountability results released by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, every school in the county made expected or high growth in 2010-11.

Dr. George Norris, Superintendent of Schools, said he was very pleased with the results released by the State Board of Education at 10 a.m. Thursday.

“This is the type of milestone that we have been looking forward to celebrating,” Norris said. “For all of our schools to show progress in this way is a major accomplishment for our students, teachers and administrators. The local community can really be proud of our schools.”

Schools that made high growth include: Cordova, East Rockingham Elementary, Ellerbe Middle, Mineral Springs Elementary, Richmond Senior High, Washington Street Elementary and West Rockingham Elementary.

Schools that made expected growth included: Fairview Heights Elementary, Hamlet Middle, L.J. Bell Elementary, Leak Street High, Monroe Avenue Elementary, the Ninth Grade Academy, the Transitional School, Rockingham Middle and Rohanen Middle.

Three schools were among the highest in the state, achieving the Schools of Distinction ranking. These were L.J. Bell Elementary, Richmond Senior High and the Ninth Grade Academy.

Richmond Early College High School also received the designation of Honor School of Excellence, with over a 98 percent performance composite. This is the second year the Richmond Early College has achieved that designation, and will graduate its first class of students in the spring.

Academic growth compares students’ academic performance from year-to-year, and also compares the growth to what has been typical in prior years across the state. Retesting has an impact on the performance of all schools under the state ABCs and AYP accountability models. At the K-8 level, statewide accountability testing is administered in grades 3 through 8. Special assessments are done for students in grades K-2, but these are not included in the ABC’s reports.

Growth at the high school level is calculated by comparing student performance on designated end-of-course tests with previous student performance on the tests. Improvement in dropout rates and participation in college university prep or college tech prep courses of study are also factored into the growth level for high schools.

Thursday’s release also contained official AYP results. Four Schools Made AYP for the Richmond County Schools district: Cordova, East Rockingham Elementary, the Ninth Grade Academy and the Early College. The results were released in preliminary form on July 21.

For more information about the state ABCs for Richmond County Schools, visit http://abcs.ncpublicschools.org/abcs/.