Beaufort County Schools fared well in the latest round of North Carolina School Report Card data released.

Nine of 14 schools received either the same or a higher school performance grade for the 2015-2016 year — with Eastern Elementary School and Beaufort County Ed Tech Center not reporting data.

Three schools, however, saw a lower grade from the previous year: Chocowinity Middle, Southside High and Washington High, all of which scored a “D” grade this year, compared to “C” grades last year.

School performance grades, brought into effect by the General Assembly in the 2013-2014 school year, are calculated based on a school’s achievement score and academic growth. The state also measures a school’s achievements based on subject exams, ACT scores and graduation rates.

Early College High School was the only school awarded an “A” performance grade, and Bath Elementary followed in second with a “B.”

The only failing grade given to a school in Beaufort County was a math performance grade for S.W. Snowden Elementary School, which scored a 33 in this category. S.W. Snowden did however improve its overall performance grade from an “F’ to a “D” this year.

Despite the lower scores for some schools, Dr. Don Phipps, BCS superintendent, said numbers don’t tell the whole story, and it’s more important to focus on growth.

Eight of 12 schools reporting growth data either met or exceeded their growth goals for 2015-2016. Three of those schools — Bath Elementary, Early College High and John Small Elementary — improved in growth from the previous year.

“If we’re not making growth, we’ve got major issues,” Phipps said in a previous interview. “I think eyes are usually drawn more to the letter. … That’s the big banner that’s flown.”

Four schools did not meet growth this year, but only Southside High showed an actual drop in growth status (“met” to “not met”) from the 2014-2015 year.

School performance assessments for the prior year are typically released during the following semester. The state also offers summaries for end-of-grade and end-of-course testing, low-performing schools and districts and alternative school data.

For more information, visit www.dpi.state.nc.us/accountability/reporting.