COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - On Tuesday, the South Carolina Department of Education released report cards for schools, districts, and the state.
These reports show the overall performance of each during the 2018-19 school year.
According to the Department of Education, schools received ratings of Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average, and Unsatisfactory on their report cards based on a 100-point scale.
Overall, 77% of school ratings across the state either improved or remained the same. Compared to ratings received in 2018, 37% of schools increased by at least one overall rating while 40% of schools held onto the same rating. The report also indicated that 17% of schools dropped by at least one overall rating.
Here’s a look at ratings for schools in the Midlands:
EXCELLENT
Calhoun County Public Schools
Sandy Run School (Middle)
Charter Institute at Erskine
Gray Collegiate Academy (High)
Fairfield County Public Schools
Fairfield Magnet School for Math and Science
Kelly Miller Elementary
Kershaw County School District
Bethune Elementary
Lugoff-Elgin Middle
Lexington County School District One
Lake Murray Elementary
Lexington High
Meadow Glen Elementary
Midway Elementary
Red Bank Elementary
River Bluff High
School District of Newberry County
Mid-Carolina Middle
Prosperity-Rikard Elementary
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 3
Elloree Elementary
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 4
Lockett Elementary
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5
OCSD High School For Health Professions
Richland School District One
Brennan Elementary
Brockman Elementary
Crayton Middle
Dreher High
Rosewood Elementary
Satchel Ford Elementary
Richland School District Two
Blythewood High
Blythewood Middle
E.L. Wright Middle
Forest Lake Elementary
Lake Carolina Elementary Upper
Langford Elementary School
Longleaf Middle
Muller Road Middle
Summit Parkway Middle (Elementary)
School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties
Chapin High
Chapin Middle
Dutch Fork High
Dutch Fork Middle
Lake Murray Elementary
Spring Hill High
South Carolina Public Charter School District
East Point Academy
Sumter School District
Hillcrest Middle
GOOD
Calhoun County Public Schools
Calhoun County High School
St. Matthews K-8 (Middle)
Clarendon School District One
Walker Gamble Elementary
Clarendon County School District Three
Scott’s Branch High
Fairfield County Public Schools
Geiger Elementary
Kershaw County School District
Camden High
Leslie M. Stover Middle
Lugoff-Elgin High
Mt. Pisgah Elementary
Pine Tree Hill Elementary
Lexington County School District One
Gilbert High
Lexington Middle
Meadow Glen Middle
New Providence Elementary
Pleasant Hill Middle
Rocky Creek Elementary
White Knoll High
Lexington School District Two
Cyril B. Busbee Creative Arts Academy
R.H. Fulmer Middle School
Riverbank Elementary
Wood Elementary
School District of Newberry County
Boundary Street Elementary
Little Mountain Elementary
Mid-Carolina High
Pomaria-Garmany Elementary
Reuben Elementary
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 3
Elloree Elementary (Middle)
Vance-Providence Elementary
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 4
Branchville High
Hunter-Kinard-Tyler High
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5
Bethune-Bowman Middle/High
North Middle/High
Richland School District One
A.C. Moore Elementary
Annie Burnside Elementary
Gadsden Elementary
Hand Middle
Meadowfield Elementary
St. Andrews Middle
W.G. Sanders Middle
W.A. Perry Middle
Watkins-Nance Elementary
Richland School District Two
Bethel-Hanberry Elementary
Catawba Trail Elementary
E.L. Wright Middle
Kelly Mill Med Pro Magnet School
Killian Elementary Steam Leaders Magnet
Polo Road Elementary
Pontiac Elementary
Rice Creek Elementary
Ridge View High
Round Top Elementary
Spring Valley High
Summit Parkway Middle
School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties
Crossroads Intermediate
Harbison West Elementary
Nursery Road Elementary - Arts Magnet
Oak Pointe Elementary
River Springs Elementary
Saluda County School District
Hollywood Elementary
South Carolina Public Charter School District
Felton Laboratory Charter School
Midlands Arts Conservatory
Sumter School District
Alice Drive Elementary
Alice Drive Middle
Ebenezer Middle
Millwood Elementary
AVERAGE
Clarendon School District One
Scott’s Branch Middle
St. Paul Elementary
Clarendon School District Two
Manning High
Manning Jr. High
Clarendon County School District Three
East Clarendon Middle/High
Charter Institute at Erskine
Midlands Stem Institute
South Carolina Virtual Charter School
Fairfield County Public Schools
Fairfield Central High
Fairfield Elementary
McCrorey-Liston School of Technology
Kershaw County School District
Baron Dekalb Elementary
Camden Elementary School of the Creative Arts
Camden Middle
Doby’s Mill Elementary
Jackson School
Lugoff Elementary
North Central High
North Central Middle
Wateree Elementary
Lee County School District
Lee Central Middle
Lower Lee Elementary
Lexington County School District One
Carolina Springs Elementary
Carolina Springs Middle
Deerfield Elementary
Gilbert Elementary
Gilbert Middle
Lexington Elementary
Oak Grove Elementary
Pelion High
Pleasant Hill Elementary
Saxe Gotha Elementary
White Knoll Elementary
White Knoll Middle
Lexington School District Two
Northside Middle School
Pine Ridge Middle
Saluda River Academy for the Arts
Springdale Elementary
Lexington County School District Three
Batesburg-Leesville Elementary
Batesburg-Leesville High
Batesburg-Leesville Middle
School District of Newberry County
Gallman Elementary
Newberry High
Newberry Middle
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 3
Holly Hill Elementary
Holly Hill-Roberts Middle
St. James-Gaillard Elementary
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 4
Branchville High
Carver-Edisto Middle
Edisto Elementary
Hunter-Kinard-Tyler Elementary
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5
Bethune-Bowman Elementary
Brookdale Elementary
Dover Elementary
Mellichamp Elementary
North Middle/High (Middle)
Sheridan Elementary
Whittaker Elementary
Richland School District One
Alcorn Middle
Arden Elementary
Burton-Pack Elementary
Carolina School for Inquiry
Carver Lyon Elementary
Forest Heights Elementary
H.B. Rhame Elementary
Heyward Gibbes Middle
Hopkins Elementary
Hopkins Middle
Logan Elementary
Mill Creek Elementary
Pine Grove Elementary
Richland One Charter Middle
Richland One Charter Middle
South Kilbourne Elementary
Southeast Middle
William S. Sandel Elementary
Richland School District Two
Bookman Road Elementary
Bridge Creek Elementary
Dent Middle
Jackson Creek Elementary
L.W. Conder Elementary Arts Integrated Magnet school
Lonnie B. Nelson Elementary
Muller Road Middle
North Springs Elementary
Richland Northeast High
Sandlapper Elementary
Westwood High
Windsor Elementary
School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties
Ballentine Elementary
Chapin Elementary
Chapin Intermediate
Dutch Fork Elementary
H.E. Corley Elementary School - A Leadership Magnet and Montessori
Irmo Elementary
Irmo High School International School for the Arts
Irmo Middle School International Academic Magnet
Leaphart Elementary School Steam Magnet
Saluda County School District
Saluda Elementary
Saluda Middle
Sumter School District
Bates Middle
Chestnut Oaks Middle
Crestwood High
Furman Middle
Kingsbury Elementary
Manchester Elementary
R.E. Davis College Preparatory Academy
Sumter High
BELOW AVERAGE
Calhoun County Public Schools
Sandy Run School (Elementary)
St. Matthews K-8 (Elementary)
Clarendon School District Two
Manning Elementary
Charter Institute at Erskine
The Montessori School of Camden
Kershaw County School District
Blaney Elementary
Midway Elementary
Lee County School District
Dennis Elementary
Lee Central High
Lexington County School District One
Forts Pond Elementary
Pelion Elementary
Pelion Middle
Lexington School District Two
Airport High
Brookland-Cayce High
Congaree Elementary
Lexington School District Four
Frances Mack Intermediate
Sandhills Elementary
Sandhills Middle
Swansea High
School District of Newberry County
Newberry Elementary
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 3
Lake Marion High School and Technology Center
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 4
Edisto High
Hunter-Kinard-Tyler High
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5
Marshall Elementary
Orangeburg-Wilkinson High
Robert E. Howard Middle
William J. Clark Middle
Richland School District One
A.J. Lewis Greenview Elementary
Bradley Elementary
Caughman Road Elementary
Columbia High
Eau Claire High
Edward E. Taylor Elementary
Horrell Hill Elementary
Hyatt Park Elementary
John P. Thomas Elementary
Lower Richland High
W.J. Keenan High
Webber Elementary
Richland School District Two
Joseph Keels Elementary
School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties
Seven Oaks Elementary School Media Magnet
South Carolina Public Charter School District
South Carolina Connections Academy
Saluda County School District
Saluda High
Sumter School District
Crosswell Drive Elementary
Lakewood High
Lemira Elementary
Rafting Creek Elementary
Wilder Elementary
UNSATISFACTORY
Charter Institute at Erskine
Midlands Stem Institute (Elementary)
Odyssey Online Learning
South Carolina Virtual Charter School
Fairfield County Public Schools
Fairfield Middle
Lee County School District
West Lee Elementary
Lexington School District Two
Cayce Elementary
School District of Newberry County
Whitmire Community School
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5
Bethune-Bowman Middle/High (Middle)
Richland School District One
C.A. Johnson High
Richland School District Two
Richland Two Charter High School
South Carolina Public Charter School District
Midlands Middle College
Sumter School District
Cherryvale Elementary
High Hills Elementary
Pocalla Springs Elementary
R.E. Davis College Preparatory Academy (Elementary)
Willow Drive Elementary
SC for Ed released a statement regarding the report cards saying:
"The 2019 SC School Report Card, like its predecessors, fails to provide data on any of the skills outlined in the Profile of a South Carolina Graduate (“creativity,” “critical thinking,” “problem solving,” “collaboration,” “communication,” and “knowing how to learn”).
Instead of these complex 21st-century skills, it measures what it calls “academic achievement,” but which is actually just standardized test scores. In the case of high school, these scores come from the EOCEP, a test high school teachers widely dislike because it does not provide targeted data on exactly what skills students are struggling to master, or what skills they are mastering.
Standardized test data is also the only measure of what the report card calls “preparing for success,” a category which also calls for a “civics exam” which students do not apparently take (at my school, “100%” of students scored “score at or above the designated passing score on the civics test”).
As the National Education Policy Center has warned, “Under ESSA, many education systems are making multiple demands on a single test without due attention to its limitations, and several have proposed uses of test information at student- and upper- levels of the system without sufficient evidentiary support of validity, reliability and utility in hand.”
The report card also measures “percent of EL Students who met progress toward proficiency target” but gives no further information about the methods used to gather this data, or an analysis of what the provided numbers mean, although a link at the bottom of the page suggests the data might come from the WIDA assessment. English Learners and other groups, such as those with Individualized Education Plans and Individual Learning Plans, who traditionally perform poorly on the standardized assessments, are also counted multiple times in the report card data because they take multiple assessments, meaning statistically nonrepresentative groups can have an outsize influence on the final scores and essentially penalize schools for having a greater number of students who traditionally do not perform well on standardized assessments. This is especially a problem since SC, on its ESSA plan, has indicated that it will not provide assessments in languages other than English.
The plan states, “No existing assessments are administered in languages other than English. The state provides instruction to EL in English and therefore administers all academic assessments in English.” According to EdWeek, SC does “not provide native-language assessments or testing accommodations for their English-learners in any content area”.
The report card also measures “graduation rate” and “college and career readiness” (using metrics like how many students filled out a FAFSA form, which do not seem to directly measure whether or not students are ready for college, and especially don’t correlate with readiness for careers”).
While graduating more students is an obvious and worthwhile goal, there has long been concern among teachers and researchers that publishing this data in a high-stakes context provides undue incentives for schools and districts to game the system by forgiving excess absences, lowering course rigor or even falsifying grades in order to raise graduation rates.
While most districts would not do this, a better method of improving these rates is by identifying schools with risk factors for low graduation rates and provide research-backed strategies for improvement.
In short, the school report card is a noble idea, because, of course, public schools should be accountable for student learning. The problem is that the state has chosen to focus almost exclusively on data that is not research-supported. Study after study has debunked the idea that student test data can be meaningfully used to evaluate school or teacher quality. The best-constructed tests can still only accurately gauge student content learning, and rarely give much insight on complex cognitive and metacognitive skills like “knowing how to learn” or “problem-solving”.
ESSA, the federal education law that replaced No Child Left Behind, encourages states to apply for “flexibility waivers” to use better and more meaningful diagnostic assessments, but SC has chosen instead to pay companies like Data Recognitions Corporation to create our assessments, rather than use more research-supported measures like portfolios.
Until we use better measures, reporting the data is going to confuse the public, at best, and give ammunition to pro-voucher groups within the state who will willfully mislead the public."
Click here to see the complete report for all districts and schools across the state.
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