Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI)
Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI)
North Carolina's Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) State Plan identifies schools for Targeted Support and Improvement when schools have underperforming student subgroup(s). This page is for schools designated as Targeted Support and Improvement Schools (TSI-CU) and Additional Targeted Support and Improvement Schools (TSI-AT/ATSI).
TSI schools must receive support from the public school unit (PSU) to improve the performance of the identified subgroups. NCDPI provides oversight and monitoring of the PSU’s oversight. Schools identified as TSI-AT/ATSI must implement federal compliance requirements throughout the designation cycle. Public School Units, serving schools with underperforming subgroups, and designated as ATSI, must comply with federal requirements. More information about PSU and school-level requirements can be found in the ATSI resources section below.
For more information about federal compliance for schools identified as Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI), please contact Dr. Pauletta Thompson at Pauletta.Thompson@dpi.nc.gov or 984-236-2984
Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) School List
Targeted Support and Improvement - Consistently Underperforming (TSI-CU)
North Carolina's Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) State Plan identifies schools for targeted support and improvement when schools have student subgroup(s) that are consistently underperforming. Schools with one or more subgroups receiving an 'F' letter grade in the accountability system for the most recent and previous two years are identified as Targeted Support and Improvement-Consistently Underperforming (TSI-CU). Identified annually, TSI-CU schools exit this identification if the identified subgroup(s) receives at least the grade of ‘D’ for the most recent and previous year’s score.
North Carolina defines subgroups as “consistently underperforming” if the subgroup receives a grade of “F” on the NC statewide system of annual meaningful differentiation (School Performance Grades) for the most recent and the previous two (2) years.
Targeted Support and Improvement - Additional Targeted Support (ATSI)
Schools meeting TSI-Additional Targeted Support (TSI-AT) criteria will be identified every three (3) years beginning in the 2018-19 school year using the following criteria:
A school with any subgroup where the score on the NC statewide system of annual differentiation (School Performance Grades) is at or below the highest identified CSI school’s All Students group total score in the identification year.
TSI-AT or ATSI schools are divided by cohort. This identifies which year the school was identified and is tracked for exit purposes. Cohort 1 (identified in 2018–19 and unable to exit) and Cohort 2 (identified in 2022–23 and eligible to exit for the first time at the end of the 2023–24 school year).
North Carolina will identify Title I schools unable to exit the Targeted Support and Improvement-Additional Targeted Support status after the sixth year of identification. Title I schools will be identified as a CSI– Additional Targeted Support Not Exiting Such Status school after three (3) additional years (six (6) years after initial identification) if unable to meet the exit criteria, with the first identification of such schools occurring in the 2024-25 school year. Title I served schools unable to exit TSI-AT at the beginning of the 2024–25 school year will become Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools.
Please contact the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's Office of Testing and Accountability for additional information about Targeted Support and Improvement identification and exit criteria. Please view the North Carolina ESSA State Plan for more information and to review the TSI Identification Business Rules.