OCTOBER 18, 2016
LAKE CITY, SC -- The State Department of Education released statewide SC Ready Assessment and End-of-Course Examination assessment results for schools and districts Tuesday, Oct. 18, and Florence County School District Three is committed to meeting and/or exceeding the state’s average on the new rigorous college and career readiness standards.
Florence County School District Three Superintendent Laura Hickson said even though the overall district’s results are still below the high expectations and potential of the district, some schools met and/or exceeded the state’s average.
The state results from the new SC Ready Assessment and End-of-Course Examination Program show Florence District 3 students are below state average in several areas, with some scores meeting or exceeding state average.
The SC Ready test was administered in the spring of 2016 to third- through eighth-graders for the first time statewide. The categories tested include English and mathematics. Students can achieve either a score of “Does Not Meet Expectations,” “Approaches Expectations,” “Meets Expectations” or “Exceeds Expectations.”
The statewide results show that a majority of students who took SC Ready did not meet standards in math and English. Based on state averages, approximately 40 percent of students in grades 3-8 met standard in ELA and even less meet the required standards in math.
“These results show a lower level of student proficiency than we would have preferred, yet we acknowledge that we are in a period of transition,” said Laura Hickson, FCSD3 superintendent. “Student performance on these assessments in no way indicates that our students know less or that our teachers are not working hard to move students forward, It does however, reflect the fact that the expectation for student proficiency has been raised significantly. As school leaders and advocates of learning, we embrace this change,” Ms. Hickson added.
Although FCSD3’s show challenges that need to be addressed, there are some achievements to celebrate.
J.C. Lynch Elementary School’s fourth-graders outperformed the state average with 50 percent scoring “meet” or “exceeding” in English compared to 43.4 percent statewide.
Scranton Elementary School’s third-graders met the state average with 43 percent scoring “meet” or “exceeding” in English.
The release of end-of-course exam scores by the State Department of Education Tuesday shows Florence County School District Three making improvement over last year.
The End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) provides tests in high school core courses and for courses taken in middle school for high school credit. EOC exams are administered in Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2, Biology 1/Applied Biology 2, English 1 and U.S. History and the Constitution.
Lake City High School showed year-to-year improvement in English, biology and history exams. The passage rate in history improved significantly from 41.6 percent in 2015 to 54.2 in 2016. The passage rate for biology improved from 71.3 percent in 2015 to 77.6 percent in 2016, which exceeded the state average of 75.7 percent. The passage rate for English increased significantly from 39.3 percent to 53.1 percent.
Algebra I was the only area that LCHS saw a decrease in scores with scores decreasing from 51.4 in 2015 to 42.4 percent in 2016.
Ronald E. McNair Junior High maintained a 100 percent passage rate in Algebra 1 and improved the passage rate for English 1 from 94.3 percent to 100 percent.
The state passage rate average is 81.9 percent for algebra, 75.7 percent for biology, 78.6 percent for English and 71.0 percent for history.
“The growth we see, as evidenced by a few grade levels exceeding state averages, is directly related to the dedication and determination of our teachers, school leaders and support staff,” said Ms. Hickson. “We recognize that it will take time before the changes taking place in our classrooms are fully reflected in the test scores. As we move toward the goal of proficiency for all of students, we are committed to providing schools with the resources they need and teachers with the professional development required to continuously grow and help their students do better,” she added.