MONROE -- Union County Public Schools outranks the state in student performance in all but one category.

North Carolina recently released its school report cards, outlining not only performance, but class size, school safety, teacher quality and classroom technology.

All end-of-grade and end-of-course scores considered, only elementary and middle school students with limited English proficiency in UCPS lagged behind when compared to state averages. That’s 30.7 percent in this group who passed both the reading and math tests; the state average is 34.6 percent.

Elementary and middle school students take EOGs; high school students take EOCs.

“We’ve got to feel pretty good about the way the school system has performed,” Superintendent Ed Davis said, adding that there is always room for improvement.

Davis’ top challenges: exceptional children with learning disabilities, students who don’t speak English as a primary language and high-priority schools with high populations of “socioeconomically disadvantaged” students.

EC teachers must be readily available, he said, and schools will strive to partner with parents whose children speak English as a second language.

High-priority schools need extra personnel — tutors in particular — and lower class sizes “to the extent the budget has allowed us to do that,” he added. UCPS has faced sharp budget cuts this year and has remanded millions back to the state.

Student testing director Carolyn White said report cards offer “a total picture” of the district. All categories are “equal in how important they are because they’re all important in what the state expects.”

State Superintendent June Atkinson hopes the information will “empower” parents to spark discussions among school personnel, PTOs and PTAs on ways to improve education.

Report cards also increase “accountability and transparency” in education, State Board of Education Chairman Bill Harrison said in a press release. The data shows taxpayers that their money continues to pay off, he added.

Class size

UCPS has slightly smaller classes or is on par with state averages in kindergarten through sixth grade. The average Union County kindergarten class holds 17 students; the state average is 19. The average sixth-grade class for both the district and state is 21 students.

Seventh- and eighth-grade classes are slightly higher. UCPS has about 23 students per class in seventh grade and 22 students in eighth grade where the state averages are 21 and 20 students.

UCPS also more crowded high school classrooms than the state average, from one to five students more. The largest gaps are in biology and algebra II. The state average is 17 students in biology and 19 students in algebra II; UCPS averages are 22 and 24 students. Physics and civics and economics have four more students per classroom than state averages.

Teacher qualification

UCPS has more teachers per school than the state average. The school system has about 47 teachers per elementary school, 70 per middle school and 65 per high school. State numbers are 37 per elementary school, 46 per middle school and 59 per high school.

Almost all of those in both the district and state are fully licensed, from 87 percent at the high school level to 97 percent at the elementary school level in Union County.

When compared to the state, the county also has slightly more teachers with advanced degrees. Thirty percent of elementary school teachers, 27 percent of middle school teachers and 25 percent of high school teachers have advanced degrees, including master’s or doctoral degrees.

Most county teachers have at least four years of experience, many with 10 or more years.

All core academic subjects, including English, math, science, reading, social studies and foreign languages, must have highly qualified teachers.

The federal definition of a highly qualified teacher is one who is fully licensed by the state, holds at least a bachelor’s degree and demonstrates competency in the subject area. Competency is measured a number of ways depending on grade level.

Financial support

Public schools receive most of their money from the state. They also get local and federal funds.

Costs evaluated in the report cards include salaries, textbooks, supplies and materials, but not facility costs.

UCPS gets slightly less state and federal funding but more local funding per student.

UCPS receives $5,240 per student in local funding, plus $2,397 locally and $531 federally. Statewide, the average student receives $5,653 in state funding, $2,130 locally and $873 federally.

Sixty-seven percent of those funds pay salaries. Seventeen percent pays benefits, and 9 percent goes to supplies and materials. State and federal funds are usually allotted for specific programs or services.

Technology

Almost all classrooms in UCPS — 98.5 percent — have Internet access, compared to 99.3 percent statewide. That leaves one computer for every 3.34 students in UCPS.

Order and safety

For every 100 students, an average of 35 high school students received short-term suspension, equaling no more than 10 days. Twenty-six middle school students and five elementary school students per 100 received the same punishment.

For every 100 students, an average of one high school student was expelled.

At all school levels in both the district and state, there was one act of crime or violence per 100 students, including acts that occur at school, at a bus stop, on a school bus or during off-campus school-sponsored activities.

For the complete district profile, visit http://tinyurl.com/yzbterg.

For individual school performance, including Union Academy, visit www.ncpublicschools.org and click on “2008-09 NC School Report Cards.” Click on the tabs at the top to view various statistics or on “school report card snapshot” for an overview.