COLUMBIA, S.C. — New numbers are in on how schools and students across the Palmetto State are performing, according to this year’s South Carolina School Report Cards.
The state releases the report card every year, rating schools based on criteria such as academic achievement and college and career readiness.
This year, 44% of schools received an overall rating of “excellent” or “good.” The report card also shows small improvements in English Language Arts (ELA) and math scores.
According to the report, 54.1% of schools met or exceeded expectations in ELA, which is an increase of less than 1% from last year. In math, 42% of schools met or exceeded expectations, up by about 2% from the previous year.
However, the report highlights disparities in college and career readiness. While 85% of students are graduating on time, only 30% are considered both college and career ready.
The number of schools receiving an overall rating of "good" or "excellent" has decreased from 579 to 546 this year.
In Richland One and Richland Two, state assessment levels remain below the state average. However, Richland One saw improvements across all grade levels. Superintendent Dr. Craig Witherspoon says they have implemented regular assessments to monitor and adjust learning.
“We’ve introduced short-cycle assessments to assess learning and see how instruction might need to be tweaked. We’ve also added some additional support, especially at the algebra level,” said Witherspoon.
Despite mostly stagnant test scores across the state, Witherspoon said many districts are still dealing with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve seen some slight improvement in ELA scores, but not as much in math," he added. "Coming off of COVID, we’ve put a lot of focus on literacy, and now we know we need to do the same with numeracy."
The report also measured student and teacher attendance. This year, both are in the classroom 86.9% of the time, a slight increase from last year. However, data from the Education Oversight Committee shows that 1 in 5 students is chronically absent.
Patrick Kelly from the Palmetto State Teachers Association suggested this may be contributing to lower test scores.
“What we’re seeing is more about student underattendance than underperformance. I’d like to see these report cards broken down further to look at the attendance rates in schools that scored below average or unsatisfactory,” Kelly said.
The report also evaluates other metrics such as student progress, school safety, and financial data.
Orangeburg County School District (OCSD) saw notable improvement, with 70% of schools rated average or above, compared to just 47% in 2022.