(posted on February 20, 2009)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Report Cards may be viewed at the State Department of Education’s web site at http://ed.sc.gov. For background information from the Education Oversight Committee, visit at http://www.sceoc.org.
State report cards issued for public schools and districts for the 2007-2008 academic year show that Horry County Schools held its ground on its Absolute rating of Average and improved its Growth rating to Average, up from Below Average the year before. Forty-eight percent of district schools received Absolute ratings of Excellent or Good, the same as in 2007. Slightly fewer schools received Growth ratings of Excellent or Good, down to 20 percent in 2008 from 22 percent in 2007.
Collectively, 82 percent of HCS schools received Absolute ratings of Average or higher, down from 84 percent in 2007. Statewide, 48 percent statewide of schools received ratings of Average or higher. Forty percent of District schools received Growth ratings of Average or higher in 2008, up from 35 percent in 2007. Statewide, 36 percent of schools earned Growth ratings of Average or higher in 2008, compared to 27 percent in 2007.
Absolute ratings report the performance of students during a given year, while Growth ratings compare the performance of matched students from one year to the next. Ratings are received in one of five categories – Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average or At-Risk. Results are based on student performance on the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT), the High School Assessment Program (HSAP), End-of-Course assessments, and on-time graduation rates. In 2008, eight schools improved their Absolute ratings, seven schools had decreased ratings and 34 schools maintained ratings.
The District as a whole has shown improved PACT scores and improved HSAP scores from a year ago. On PACT, students showed improvements in 12 of 24 scoring categories among those meeting state standards. Improvements were shown in 21 of 24 categories among students scoring at Proficient and Advanced levels. Student performance on PACT is higher than the state average in all grades and all subject areas for students meeting and exceeding state-level standards.
District 10th graders improved performance on HSAP and outpaced the state average on the test, which is commonly referred to as the exit exam. In 2008, 83.5 percent of HCS 10th graders passed HSAP on their first attempt, a 1.6 point increase from 81.9 percent who passed in 2007. Statewide, 80.8 percent of 10th graders passed HSAP on their first attempt last spring, a 3.7 point increase from 77.1 percent who passed on their first attempt in 2007.
HCS students made improvements in the mean scores on end-of-course test in English, algebra, and physical science, outpacing the state in each of the subject areas tested last year. At the state level, student scores improved in English and physical science, but decreased slightly in algebra. For HCS students, the 2007-2008 grade distribution for English I was 13.4 percent A, 17.5 percent B, 25.7 percent C, 17.0 percent D and 26.4. Grade distribution for algebra was 18.1 percent A, 18.5 percent B, 23.1 percent C, 23.3 percent D and 17.1 percent F. Grade distribution for physical science was 12.3 percent A, 16.1 percent B, 17.9 percent C, 17.5 percent D and 36.2 percent F. Statewide, the grade distribution for English I was 11.9 percent A, 15.6 percent B, 23.6 percent C, 17.3 percent D and 31.6 percent F. Grade distribution for algebra was 14.5 percent A, 16.8 percent B, 22.9 percent C, 24.1 percent D and 21.7 percent F. Grade distribution for physical science was 9.3 percent A, 10.6 percent B, 16.9 percent C, 18.2 percent D and 45 percent F.
|
Schools’ Absolute Ratings |
2008 |
2007 |
2006 |
2005 |
2004 |
2003 |
2002 |
2001 |
|
Excellent |
14.0% |
10.8% |
17.8% |
34.0% |
40.0% |
45.5% |
39.5% |
20.9% |
|
Good |
34.0% |
34.7% |
42.3% |
40.9% |
48.8% |
40.9% |
48.8% |
51.2% |
|
Average |
34.0% |
39.1% |
33.4% |
22.7% |
11.1% |
13.6% |
7.0% |
25.6% |
|
Below Average |
18.0% |
15.2% |
6.7% |
2.2% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
4.7% |
2.3% |
|
At-Risk |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% | Schools’ Growth ratings…
Forty percent of District schools received Growth ratings of Excellent, Good or Average in 2008, a five-point increase from 35 percent in 2007. Statewide, 36 percent of schools earned the same ratings, compared to 27 percent last year.
In order for schools to receive an Average Improvement rating, at least 10 percent of students must perform better than the previous year. A Good Improvement rating requires a 30 percent increase in performance while an Excellent Improvement rating requires a 40 percent increase.
District-wide, 16 schools improved their Growth ratings, 11 schools had decreased ratings and 21 schools maintained ratings.
|
Schools’ Growth Ratings |
2008 |
2007 |
2006 |
2005 |
2004 |
2003 |
2002 |
2001 |
|
Excellent |
12.3% |
6.5% |
11.4% |
20.4% |
15.9% |
15.9% |
30.2% |
19.6% |
|
Good |
8.2% |
15.2% |
18.2% |
27.2% |
34.0% |
27.3% |
25.6% |
11.6% |
|
Average |
10.0% |
6.5% |
4.6% |
6.8% |
2.3% |
6.8% |
18.6% |
27.9% |
|
Below Average |
38.8% |
32.6% |
18.2% |
25.0% |
25.0% |
18.2% |
14.0% |
27.9% |
|
At-Risk |
30.7% |
39.1% |
47.8% |
20.4% |
22.7% |
31.8% |
11.6% |
14.0% | More than 37,500 Report Cards will be sent home with students in the next two weeks. In addition to state and federal ratings required by the South Carolina Education Accountability Act of 1998 and the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Report Card data also include student-teacher ratios, dollars spent per student, absentee rates for students and teachers, socio-economic status of students' families and average teacher salaries.
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