For Immediate Release
October 1, 2019
Contact: Ryan Brown, 803-734-5080
rybrown@ed.sc.gov
2019 School Report Cards Released
Columbia, S.C. Today, the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) released school, district, and state report cards. The 2019 report cards reflect school, district, and overall state performance during the 2018-2019 school year and are the second iteration of report cards that meet the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.

"I hope that parents and communities will use report cards as a tool to engage in important conversations about the previous year's successes and challenges that schools across our state face every day,” said State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman. "We are continually working to ensure that our accountability system accurately reflects the hard work being done by educators to meet the needs of all students."

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 the ten key report card indicators, which contain information about schools and districts on how well students performed on state and national assessments, student growth, graduation rates, English language proficiency, student engagement, safety, classroom learning environments and more. Although school districts and primary schools receive report cards, they are not rated.

The 2018-2019 report cards also contain school level local, state, and federal per pupil expenditure data, the first report cards to contain this information as part of a new federal requirement.

Overall, 77% of school ratings either remained the same or improved. Compared to ratings received in 2018, 37% of schools rose by at least one overall rating (ex. Average to Good), 40% of schools held on to the same rating, and 17% of schools dropped by at least one overall rating.

State law was recently amended to require that report cards be distributed by October 1, 2019 for the 2018-2019 school year rather than November 15 as was previously required. For the 2019-2020 school year, and every subsequent year, report cards will be issued by September 1. The significantly shortened timeline requires the SCDE to no-longer pre-release state assessment data for schools, districts, and the state. School and district performance on state assessments can be found on the report card and a state level synopsis can be found below.

While report cards present an opportunity for communities to learn what they can do to help students and schools, they are not the only measure of the success. Visiting schools and talking to parents, students, teachers and graduates can paint a more complete picture of the overall educational experience.

Report cards can be accessed by visiting SCReportCards.com.
How the 100 points are broken down by indicator
Graduation Rate and College and Career Readiness

  • The on-time graduation rate remained largely unchanged at 81.1%, a 0.1% increase from 2018.

  • The percentage of diploma earners who are college or career ready increased 5.3% to 75.1% of 2018- 2019 school year diploma earners. 

State Assessment Results

SC READY

  • The percentage of students scoring met or exceeding grade level expectations on the SC READY English Language Arts assessment increased 3.7% to 45.4% of tested students.

  • The number of students scoring met or exceeding grade level expectations on the SC READY Math assessment increased 0.5% to 45.1% of tested students.

SC PASS

  • The percentage of students scoring met or exceeding grade level expectations on the SC PASS Social Studies assessment decreased 1% to 67.6% of tested students.

  • The percentage of students scoring met or exceeding grade level expectations on the SC PASS Science assessment decreased 0.3% to 49.1% of tested students.

End of Course Examination Program (EOCEP)

  • EOCEP scores are representative of a four-year graduation cohort and not solely the 2017-2018 administration of the exams.

  • The percentage of students scoring C or higher on the English EOCEP exam increased 2.5% to 56.4% of tested students.

  • The percentage of students scoring C or higher on the Algebra EOCEP exam decreased 5.5% to 55% of tested students.

  • The percentage of students scoring C or higher on the Biology EOCEP exam decreased 5.1% to 54.4% of tested students.

  • The percentage of students scoring C or higher on the U.S. History and the Constitution EOCEP exam decreased 1.2% to 47.7% of tested students.

Ready to Work (R2W) Assessment

  • The number of students receiving a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) remained unchanged at 83.3%.

  • The number of students receiving a Platinum NCRC increased 0.5% to 3% of tested students.

  • The number of students receiving a Gold NCRC increased 3.4% to 10.2% of tested students.

  • The number of students receiving a Silver NCRC decreased 3.5% to 50.5% of tested students.

  • The number of students receiving a Bronze NCRC decreased 0.4% to 19.7% of tested students.
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All students graduate prepared for success in college, careers, and citizenship. By 2022, districts will have available a system of personalized and digital learning that supports students in a safe learning environment to meet the  Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.
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