School Report Card Ratings Improve Statewide

The number of school districts and schools receiving an “Excellent” Absolute rating on the state’s School Report Card has increased since 2010, according to data released from the state Department of Education on Thursday.

Eleven out of 86 school districts received an Excellent Absolute rating compared to six districts in 2010.

Abbeville, Darlington, Florence 5, Spartanburg 1 and Spartanburg 6 join York 4, Lexington 5, Anderson 1, Lexington 1, Greenwood 52, and York 2 in the list of districts who received an Excellent rating. The latter six districts received an Excellent rating in 2010 and 2011.

The number of districts receiving an Excellent or Good increased from 18 to 33 from 2010 to 2011, according to the state department. Twenty-two districts earned a Good rating compared to 12 in 2010.

At the same time, the number of districts rated At-Risk also increased by three from the six reported in 2010.

Richland One received an Absolute rating of Below Average in 2010 and 2011. 

As for schools, 76 schools have been rated as Excellent in 2011. That's 27 percent of the state’s schools compared to 21 percent last year.

The number of elementary, middle and high schools receiving an Excellent rating increased from 2010 to 2011.

Elementary schools increased from 134 to 166; middle schools increased from 36 to 53; and high schools increased from 40 to 72.

At the other end of the ratings, the number of schools receiving an At-Risk rating stayed the same at 69 schools. No primary schools received the rating.

Twenty-nine middle schools, an increase of two from 2010, are rated as At-Risk, while 17 high schools and 23 elementary schools in the state also received the rating. There was one less high and middle school in 2011.

Schools and districts also receive a rating for Growth.

Richland One received an Excellent Growth rating for 2011. Last year, the district received the At-Risk Growth rating.

"We are pleased to have received an Excellent growth rating on our district report card which reflects the hard work of our students, teachers, principals and support staff," said Karen York, spokeswoman for the district. "It also reflects continuous improvement and shows that we are headed in the right direction. That's what we want to see and we want to keep that momentum going."

Statewide for 2011, 251 schools compared to 263 in 2010 received an Excellent rating. The number of schools that received an At-Risk Growth rating has declined from 116 to 75.

There are more high schools and middle schools showing an Excellent Growth rating in 2011 at 42 schools and 54 schools, respectively, compared to 25 and 42 in 2010. There are less primary and elementary schools in 2011. Primary schools are at 3 in 2011 compared to 13 and elementary schools are at 152 schools compared to 183 in 2010.

As for the state’s on-time graduation rate, the score was 73.6 percent compared to 2010’s score of 72.1 percent. The state’s graduation rate was at it’s highest in 2003 at 78 percent.

Richland One's on-time graduation rate for 2011 is lower than the statewide rate. However, the district improved its graduation rate by more than four percent — from 63.7 percent last year to 68 percent for 2011. 

In St. Andrews, Columbia High's graduation rate increased by more than eight percent — from 62.4 percent in 2010 to 71.1 percent in 2011.

Absolute ratings are based on a set of test scores and cover the most recently completed school year. For high schools, those tests include End-of-Course exams, the High School Assessment Program (HSAP) exams and graduation rates.

Growth ratings (formerly called Improvement ratings) make a comparison of test scores from the recent school year to previous years. This rating shows a “trend” through the years and is a secondary measurement for schools and districts.

Both rankings assign grades of Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average or At-Risk to schools and districts.

The Education Oversight Committee, which was created by the General Assembly to lead the implementation of the state’s Education Accountability Act of 1998, set the ratings formulas based on student achievement.

Schools receive Absolute ratings of Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average, or At-Risk based on how their students perform on the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS), according to the state department.

This year's district and school report card scores compared to last year's

District and school graduation rates