Here’s how Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Clover and other schools stack up in latest SC testing
The results are in, and they show a wide range of academic ability levels for students across the region.
The South Carolina Department of Education released 2021-22 results for major standardized tests in science, math and language arts. The SCPASS covers science in fourth and sixth grades. SC Ready covers language arts and math in grades 3-8.
“Today’s results confirm the impacts and disruptions caused by the pandemic and the fact that we must continue to support students and educators as we recover,” state superintendent of education Molly Spearman said in a release.
Spearman said regression in areas like math is alarming, but language arts scores are encouraging.
“The return to pre-pandemic scores in ELA is due, in large part, to the sense of urgency educators felt and the willingness of educators and lawmakers to act and implement support during and post pandemic,” Spearman said.
Results fell into one of several categories.
Test scores either exceed, meet, approach or fail to meet expectations. Results varied considerably across the region. The Fort Mill School District largely shows gains related to past scores, and well outpaces statewide scores across grade levels and subject.
“We are very proud of the work being done by our teachers and staff in the district,” said Fort Mill District Superintendent Chuck Epps. “This data shows that the district is committed to the continued education of students regardless of the challenges we may face.”
The Clover School District received similar high marks. Others, like the Rock Hill School District, came in closer to state averages. A range of scores saw high and low marks for the York School District, Lancaster County School District and Chester School District.
Math
Statewide, 26.8% of third-graders failed to meet math testing expectations. That figure grew steadily to eighth grade, where 40.8% of students fell below expectations.
Between 27.2% (fourth-graders) and 38.5% (eighth-graders) of York students failed to meet math expectations. Between 9.3% (seventh-graders) and 18.8% (fifth-graders) exceeded expectations.
Clover fared better. Between 11.4% and 21.3% of students by grade fell below expectations. In Fort Mill only 8%-12% of students, by grade, fell below expectations.
Rock Hill scores largely mirrored what the state registered. Rock Hill had 26.1% of third-graders, up to 49.8% of eighth-graders, who didn’t meet expectations.
Between 19.4% and 35.6% of Lancaster County students, by grade, didn’t meet math expectations. Between 32.2% (fourth-graders) and 62.9% (eighth-graders) in Chester County failed to meet expectations.
Then, there were students who excelled. Statewide, between 15.5% and 24.4% of students by grade exceeded math expectations.
More than 35% of all Fort Mill students exceeded math expectations. They ranged from 35.5% in seventh grade to 44.7% in third grade. Between 29.3% and 41% of Clover students exceeded expectations.
Rock Hill exceeded expectations between 7.5% and 23.6%, by grade. Between 16.3% and 36.1% of Lancaster County students exceeded math expectations. Chester County saw between 2.8% and 18.7% exceed expectations, with the number dropping with each school year.
ELA
English and language arts results show more than 22% of students statewide in grades 3-8 didn’t meet expectations. Scores range from 22.1% of fifth-graders in that category to 29% of third-graders.
In York, more than 31% of students in grades 3-5 didn’t meet expectations.
The highest figure came in third grade, at 38.5%. Grades 6-8 fared better, ranging from 22.5% in seventh grade to 27.7% in eighth grade. Only seventh-graders in York had a lower percentage of students who failed to meet expectations than the state figure.
In Clover just 8.9% of fifth-graders, up to 16.6% of third-graders didn’t meet expectations. Fort Mill was even better, ranging from 7% of fifth-graders to 11.1% of third-graders who didn’t meet expectations.
In Rock Hill, 22.7% of fifth-graders didn’t meet expectations. That number rose to 32.8% of eighth-graders. Only sixth-graders in Rock Hill scored better than the state number for students who failed to meet expectations.
Between 21.6% and 31.4% of Lancaster County students, by grade, didn’t meet ELA expectations. Between 27.9% and 37.5% of Chester County students didn’t meet expectations.
Other students tested on the opposite end of the spectrum. Statewide, between 16.7% and 30.6% of students by grade level exceeded expectations in ELA testing.
All Fort Mill and Clover grade levels had higher percentages of student exceeding standards than did the state. All Lancaster County grades except seventh grade did, too, as did grades three and four in Rock Hill.
The remaining grades, including all of them in York and Chester County schools, scored lower than the state figure of students exceeding standards.
Science
Statewide, 31.1% of fourth-graders and 36.4% of sixth-graders didn’t meet expectations in science testing. York (28.7%; 33.6%), Clover (13.7%; 14.9%) and Fort Mill (11.5%; 13%) all performed better than the state as a whole.
Chester County schools fared worse with 43.2% of fourth-graders and 55.4% of sixth-graders failing to meet expectations.
Rock Hill (30%) and Lancaster County (26.7%) both bettered the state rate for fourth-graders, but weren’t as strong as the state number for sixth-graders. In both districts, 38.1% of sixth-graders failed to meet expectations.
On the opposite end 22.2% of fourth-graders and 24.1% of sixth-graders statewide exceeded expectations. Fort Mill (39.6%; 51%) and Clover (36.1%; 46.1%) exceeded the state figures.
Lancaster County fourth-graders beat the state mark with 23.6% exceeding expectations, but the 22% of sixth-graders fell below the state standard.
Rock Hill (21.2%; 22.2%), York (19%; 18.8%) and Chester (8.2%; 12.7%) fell below the state line for students exceeding standards in both grades.
School results
The state information further breaks down by school level. It even includes some results by demographics. Parents can access those results by visiting ed.sc.gov. Just click the “Data & Reports” tab, then the “Test Scores” link. Click on SC READY for math and language arts results, or SCPASS for science results.
This story was originally published September 6, 2022 at 4:44 PM.
