One predominantly black Raleigh charter school got a reprieve today while another is still hanging in the wind.

The state Board of Education voted today to give PreEminent Charter a three-year renewal to see if scores improve. But the board delayed taking action on Torchlight Academy until they get some additional information.

Torchlight could still wind up not having its charter renewed, which would basically mean the school would close at the end of this school year.

Should the state give more latitude to high F&R and minority charter schools before not renewing their charters?

As noted in today's article, representatives from PreEminent Charter and Torchlight Academy, both in Raleigh, are making that case in an attempt to keep their charters. State officials are citing low test scores and other issues for not recommending that their charters be renewed when they expire in June.

"You have to look at more than statistics," said Don McQueen, executive director of Torchlight. "You have to look at the character of the school."

This is probably not a great day for Enloe High School.

As noted in today's article, Enloe's PTSA is warning students not to walk alone on campus following the beating of a student last week. In another article, Enloe didn't make U.S. News & World Report's 2009 list of America's 1,942 best high schools.

The timing of both articles in today's paper was coincidental.

Wake took an academic hit but still fared better, on at least some measures, than the state on the new ABCs of Public Education results.

The number of Wake schools where at least 80 percent of students passed state exams and also met growth goals dropped from 69 to 30. But the lower total still accounted for 20 percent of Wake's schools, compared to 10 percent statewide.

A majority of Wake's schools, 58 percent, were listed as Schools of Progress, meaning between 60 and 80 percent of students passed state exams and also met growth goals.

Apex, Cardinal Gibbons, Athens Drive, Green Hope among first round winners

You can take a glass is half full or half empty look at the new SAT results for Wake.

The school district's average SAT score rose two points to 1,059 (based on the math and reading portions). Only a handful of much smaller districts in the state had a higher score, such as 1,179 in Chapel Hill-Carrboro.

But the percentage of Wake high school seniors who took the exam this past school year dropped to 74 percent. It was at 80 percent the previous year.