This 1993 report is the second issue of the "State of the State--Education Performance in North Carolina," which monitors the health of North Carolina's education system as a whole and compares it to national and regional performance data. The first two sections define characteristics of North Carolina and its schools. Information about the public school population, enrollment, and funding is included. The third section compares the performance of North Carolina students to those in the nation and other states on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, The National Assessment of Educational Progress, and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Section 4 provides information on the performance of student subgroups, pointing out areas in which discrepancies exist. Generally, the more advantaged the subgroup, the greater the discrepancy in scores between the state and national averages for that subgroup. The gap in achievement levels between white and black students is evident in all subjects at all grade levels. Comparisons are based on both national and state measures. The fifth section focuses on fourth-grade student performance in reading. Data show that although a higher percentage of black fourth-grade students scored at or above the basic level than did black students in the Southeast and in the United States as a whole, the performance gap between white and black students in North Carolina remains substantial. (LMI)