North Carolina had designated the Robeson County school system as “low-performing” since the 2017-2018 school year because more than half its schools failed to meet academic standards.   

Now the district is off the state list–a milestone education officials celebrated on Wednesday when the N.C. Department of Public Instruction released performance data for last school year.     

“The real story is how we got here,” Windy Dorsey-Carr, an assistant superintendent in Robeson, said during a press conference in Raleigh. “Our progress has come from building a strong, more coherent system around teaching, learning and leadership.” 

Forty-five percent of public school students in Robeson County were proficient on state exams in the 2025-2026 school year, data shows. That’s up 7.7 points from the prior year and up 14.1 points since 2021-2022, when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools. 

However, the district continued to lag behind the statewide proficiency rate of 59%. 

But the district’s four-year graduation rate jumped from 85.6% to 89.2% in 2026. That exceeded the statewide rate of 88.8%. 

Robeson County schools were close to getting off the low-performing list last year. Dorsey-Carr said several factors have contributed to the district’s academic gains, including an overhaul of curriculum standards and teaching metrics. Administrators have paid particular attention to schools that were struggling, she said. 

In the Border Belt, three districts remain on the low-performing list: Bladen County Schools, Columbus County Schools, and Scotland County Schools. All of them, in addition to Whiteville City Schools, saw academic improvements last school year, data shows. 

Bladen County Schools

  • 43% of students were proficient on statewide tests in 2025-2026, up from 39% the year before. 
  • The district has seen a 7.5-point increase in student proficiency since 2021-2022. But the percentage of students who were proficient last school year still lagged behind 2018-2019, when 47.5% of students passed state exams. 
  • 36.9% of students in third through eighth grades were proficient in reading last school year, and 37.9% were proficient in math. 
  • Most schools received C or D grades. Bladen Early College got an A. 
  • Most schools met growth standards for academic performance. Elizabethtown Middle and Clarkton School of Discovery were the only schools in the district that exceeded standards. Four schools did not meet standards. 
  • 92% of high school students graduated in four years, up 9.2 points from the prior year. 

Columbus County Schools

  • 46% of students were proficient on statewide tests in 2025-2026, up from 43% the year before. 
  • The district has seen 3.6-point increase in proficiency since 2021-2022,. 
  • But the percentage of students who were proficient last school year still lagged behind 2018-2019, when 51.9% of students passed state exams.  
  • 44.3% of students in third through eighth grades were proficient in reading last school year, and 43.6% were proficient in math. 
  • Most schools received C or D grades. One got an A: Columbus Career and College Academy. 
  • Eight schools did not meet growth standards for academic performance. Three schools did meet standards. Columbus Career and College Academy was the only school to exceed standards. 
  • 90.5% of high school students graduated in four years in 2026, up 2 points from the prior year and 5.9 points since 2017. 

Public Schools of Robeson County 

  • 45% of students were proficient on statewide tests in 2025-2026, up from 38% the previous year. 
  • The district has seen a 14.1-point increase since 2021-2022, when 31% of students were proficient. 
  • The percentage of students who were proficient last school year matches the figure from 2018-2019. 
  • 38.4% of students in third- through eighth-grades were proficient in reading last school year; 44% were proficient in math. 
  • Most schools received B, C, or D grades. 
  • Ten schools exceeded growth standards. Eighteen schools met growth standards, while eight did not meet them. 
  • 89.2% of high school students graduated in four years in 2026, up 3.6 points from the prior year. 

Scotland County Schools

  • 41% of students were proficient on statewide tests in 2025-2026, up from 38% the previous year. 
  • The district has seen a 7.1-point increase since 2021-2022. 
  • But the percentage of students who were proficient last school year still lagged behind 2018-2019, when 45% of students passed state exams. 
  • 34.9% of students in third through eighth grades were proficient in reading, while 41.3% were proficient in math. 
  • Most schools received D grades. One got an A: Scotland Early College High School.
  • Two schools exceeded academic growth standards: Scotland High School and Scotland Early College High School. Five schools met academic standards, and one did not. 
  • 91.2% of high school students graduated in four years in 2026, up 0.5 points from the prior year and 8.4 points since 2017. 

Whiteville City Schools

  • 56% of students were proficient on statewide tests in 2025-2026, up from 50% the previous year. 
  • In 2021-2022, 51% of students were proficient.
  • The percentage of students who were proficient last school year still lagged behind 2018-2019, when 63% of students passed state exams. 
  • 48.6% of students in third through eighth grades were proficient in reading, and 56.5% were proficient in math. 
  • Three schools in the district got a C grade. No schools met performance standards. 
  • 87.6% of high school students graduated in four years, down 2.7 points from the prior year. 

Heidi Perez-Moreno covers education and more at the Border Belt Independent. She is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and previously worked at The Washington Post.