Area students, parents and teachers have reason to brag. Three of the top five high schools in North Carolina are in the Charlotte area, according to GreatSchools in BusinessWeek's annual survey. The survey rated schools in five categories: top performing, top performing-low income, most improved, parents choice-public, and parents choice-private.

Mint Hill's Independence High School was named Most Improved in the state. Much of the improvement in student performance can be attributed to the focus on teaching to the individual student and not necessarily teaching to the class. Although tutoring is not required of teachers, many at this school do and it has having a positive impact on standardized test scores. Teachers have also been willing to share their classroom techniques with each other, helping all to take advantage of what is working.

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