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Horry County Schools Experiences Significant Gains In State Report Cards; 80% Of District Schools Rated Excellent And Good

Horry County Schools’ performance on the 2023 state report cards, based on overall ratings, shows that 79.6% of district schools were rated as Excellent or Good.  This is a 20 percentage point increase over the 2021-2022 school year.

South Carolina schools receive descriptive overall ratings of Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average, and Unsatisfactory, based on a 100-point scale. Schools also receive ratings on seven out of ten key report card indicators, which contain information about schools and districts regarding how well students performed on state and national assessments, student growth, graduation rates, English language proficiency, and more. While school districts and primary schools receive report cards, they are not rated. The 2022-2023 report cards also contain school, local, state, and federal per-pupil expenditure data as part of federal accountability requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

School and district performance on state assessments can be found on the report cards. A synopsis of district performance can be found below.

Graduation Rate and College & Career Readiness 

  • The on-time graduation rate for HCS slipped to 82.1% in 2023, compared to 83.1% in 2022. The state’s on-time graduation rate remained unchanged at 83.8% compared to the previous year.

  • Of the 3560 members of the HCS 2023 graduating cohort, 2335 (65.6%) were identified as college- or career-ready, a decrease from 72.8% in 2022. Statewide, 64.7% of students in the 2023 graduating cohort were determined to be college- or career-ready.

  • The average composite SAT score for the class of 2023 rose to 1046, 26 points higher than the state average of 1020.

  • 1923 HCS high school students took 2826 Advanced Placement exams, with 78% earning a score of 3 or higher, making them eligible for potential college credit.

  • Over 1060 HCS 11th and 12th graders took advantage of dual enrollment opportunities through Horry-Georgetown Technical College in 2023

State Assessment Results

SC READY

  • The percentage of district students in grades 3 through 8 scoring “met” or “exceeding” grade-level expectations on the SC READY English Language Arts assessment rose to 60.5%, up 8 percentage points from 52.6% in 2022. Statewide ELA performance increased to 53.9% in 2023, compared to 46.6% in 2022.

  • The percentage of district students in grades 3 through 8 scoring “met” or “exceeding” grade-level expectations on the SC READY Math assessment was 49.3%, up 3 percentage points from 46.9% the previous year, and 8 percentage points higher than the overall state average of 40.9%.

SC PASS

  • The percentage of district students in grades 4 and 6 scoring “met” or “exceeding” grade-level expectations on the SC PASS Science assessment was 53.2%, compared to 53.7% in 2022, and it was eight percentage points higher than the state’s average of 45.1%.

End of Course Examination Program (EOCEP) - grades 9 through 12

  • On the English II exam, 70.9% of district students scored a “C” or higher, 7 percentage points higher than the state’s 64.4% of students performing at the same level.

  • On the Algebra exam, 57.9% of district students scored a “C” or higher, 16 percentage points higher than the state’s 41.8%. 

  • On the Biology exam, 52% of district students scored a “C” or higher in 2023, 11 percentage points higher than the state’s 40.9%. Both district and state performance slipped from 58.8% and 46.9%, respectively, in 2022.

  • The percentage of district students scoring a “C” or higher on the U.S. History and the Constitution exam is 12 points higher than the state at 53.7%, compared to the state’s 42.1%. The percentage of district students earning a “C” or higher was 51.2% in 2022, in comparison to 37.8% statewide. 

South Carolina Career Readiness Test (SCCRT)

  • The number of district students earning a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) in 2022 is 75.8%, 4 percentage points higher than the state’s 71.6%. District results slipped from 79% of students earning an NCRC in 2022.

State report cards present an opportunity for communities to learn what they can do to help students and schools, and they help foster conversations to support continuous improvement. District and school report cards can be accessed by visiting SCReportCards.com.