https://madamenoire.com/1069361/lebron-james-i-promise-academy-high-test-scores/

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A year after its opening, the students at LeBron James’ I Promise Academy have made a complete turnaround academically.

Last year, the students scored extremely low on their state exams, putting them in the lowest percentile.  Fast forward to now and the third grade students’ test scores have jumped to the ninth percentile while the fourth graders are now in the 16th. Ninety percent of the students that met their academic goals exceeded 70 percent of students nationwide. The test scores for the I Promise Academy improved at a higher rate than 99 out of 100 schools nationally.

“These kids are doing an unbelievable job, better than we all expected,” James told The New York Times. “When we first started, people knew I was opening a school for kids. Now people are going to really understand the lack of education they had before they came to our school. People are going to finally understand what goes on behind our doors.”

The excitement comes from their test scores from the Measures of Academic Progress assessment.

When James started this school he was praised for giving back to his community and focusing on education however no one knew what to expect and some doubted the school would be deemed good. The students who fill the third and fourth grade classrooms were already labeled as some of the worst students in Akron. Thankfully,  the school and students defied the odds and have exceeded expectations so far.