Are charters better than Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools? Here’s what state data show
North Carolina families are increasingly turning to charter schools instead of traditional public schools. But charter schools don’t necessarily outperform their traditional counterparts in Charlotte, new data show.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ average score is close to the median for local charter schools, according to state student performance data released last week. So, whether a child’s charter school is better than their local public school largely depends on where they enroll.
About 10% of NC students are now enrolled in charter schools, higher than the national average of 7%. In Mecklenburg County, charters’ market share is even higher, with around 16% of students attending charter schools during the 2024-25 school year, according to an analysis from education advocacy nonprofit BEST NC.
Charter schools also saw a 6% increase in enrollment for the 2024-25 school year compared to the 2023-24 school year, according to data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Charter school enrollment has increased by 33% since 2019.
“The number of schools are decreasing, the enrollment is still increasing,” Ashley Baquero, executive director of the State Office of Charter Schools, told the state Charter Schools Review Board in June. “I think this is what we will probably continue to see because schools that are really strong are expanding or growing students and those that are struggling are either just not opening or closing.”
Charter schools vs NC public school districts
Like public school districts, charter schools in North Carolina must also give the state end-of-grade exams and are assigned school grades based on those results.
There are 13 charter schools NCDPI designates as “local education agencies” or LEAs in Mecklenburg County. Of those, seven had higher student proficiency averages than CMS in 2024-25, while six had lower averages.
Some criticize charter schools for what they say is a lack of accountability and regulatory structures compared to traditional public schools. For example, they are not required to hire licensed teachers or have restrictions on class sizes, which are required of traditional public schools. And though charters operate on public funding, they may be run by for-profit companies.
However, proponents of charter schools say they have the freedom to be more innovative and flexible in their educational approaches than traditional public schools do.
Compare the scores
There are 186 CMS campuses, so the CMS average is just that: an average. For example, 29 CMS schools earned an A in 2024-25, the large majority of which received a performance grade of 81 or higher. All but three charter schools in the county had grades lower than 81. The three that scored higher were Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy, Lake Norman Charter and Socrates Academy.
Meanwhile, CMS had six F-rated schools in 2024-25, all of which had student performance grades under 33%. That’s lower than all but two charter schools in the county: Charlotte Secondary and Commonwealth High School.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction assigns letter grades to each school based on student performance on standardized tests (about 80% of the grade calculation) and whether schools meet their targets for student improvement from one year to another (about 20% of the calculation).
CMS saw dramatic gains in state performance results released last week, particularly when it comes to the rate of school improvement. About 56% of CMS students were proficient on statewide exams this year — 3 percentage points better than the 2022-23 school year. CMS also surpassed the state average of 55%, which is up almost a point from last year.
Charter school performance data
The data show that with charters, like with traditional public schools, performance varies widely.
Meanwhile, NC’s school performance grades themselves have long been under scrutiny, with critics saying the A-F model stigmatizes students and staff at low-performing schools, which often have a large share of low-income students.
Just six out of 50 states used an A through F school accountability model as of September 2024. Out of those states, North Carolina gives the most weight to student test scores.
Find how specific CMS and charter campuses fared on this year’s assessment in the table below.
This story was originally published September 10, 2025 at 9:02 AM.
CORRECTION: Examples of North Carolina’s regulations around charter schools were incorrect in a previous version of this story. This story has been updated.
