Are Rock Hill region grads ready to work after high school? Some more than others
What kinds of jobs will local high school students find once they get diplomas? A lot depends on where they live, and what schools they attend.
The South Carolina Department of Education released new information this month on career readiness. The state tested high school students in math, reading, data assessment and soft skills to see how their abilities stack up with some of the most common workforce needs.
Students in the Fort Mill and Clover school districts scored high marks across the board. Districts like Rock Hill, York and Lancaster County had high spots, including how their students ranked by minority status or proficiency in English.
Some local scores also showed students unprepared for most types of work beyond a high school degree.
Here are four takeaways from the state data. For a more in-depth look and explanations, scroll through the graphic below to compare state, district and school results.
What do career readiness scores mean?
The state tests 11th graders in four subjects to measure skills employers look for, according to the education department. Math, reading and data are scored one through five. Soft skills are either pass or fail.
Level one scores project to jobs that may or may not require a diploma. Workers typically wouldn’t need previous work-related skills or knowledge.
Anything above a Level one score earns a state credential.
Level two means jobs require a diploma and months of job training or an apprenticeship. Some work-related skill is usually needed. Level three aligns with jobs that need vocational school or an associate’s degree.
Level four scores mean jobs require a four-year college degree.
Level five jobs take graduate school or higher education.
The state doesn’t give examples of jobs that fit into each category.
Fort Mill and Clover producing work-ready graduates
No traditional public school districts rank higher than Fort Mill and Clover for producing job-ready graduates (levels two through five). Fort Mill also ranks highest for having the most advanced job skills.
Fort Mill had 91.4% of its test-takers earned some credential level. Only two Governor’s School districts, both with 99% or more, scored higher. Clover came in right behind Fort Mill at 84.2%, or 12% higher than state mark.
Fort Mill also had the highest percentage of students score a four or five among traditional districts.
Scores by demographics
Fort Mill finished in a class of its own, but other area districts saw bright spots among results for minority, poor, limited-English-speaking and other students.
Of 40 test categories broken down by demographics and subject, Fort Mill led the state 19 times in students scoring level two or higher. Fort Mill finished second 11 more times, and never worse than No. 9 among traditional school districts in any category.
Clover finished in the top 10 in 15 categories. Reading scores for limited-English learners were second best in the state. Clover was third best in girls math, limited-English data and reading scores for boys, girls and Black students.
Lancaster County had five top 10 spots. Math for students of two or more races was No. 4 statewide. Math for students with disabilities and data for limited-English learners each ranked No. 5.
Rock Hill fared best among Asian (No. 4), limited-English (No. 5) and Hispanic (No. 5) scores in soft skills testing. The district also was No. 4 in reading for Asian students.
Hispanic students in York finished No. 8 in math.
The smaller group rankings tended to favor larger districts since data wasn’t included for smaller ones when there weren’t enough students tested in some demographic groups.
How results changed in a year
Students who scored in levels two through five, increased 0.6% statewide from last year’s testing to the new data this year. But math, reading and data rates all dropped between 0.3% and 0.7%. The increase came in soft skills, where pass rate increased 1.6%.
Among area districts, Fort Mill and Rock Hill scored better this year than last.
Fort Mill credential rates rose 5.8%, including jumps between 3.4% and 3.9% in math, reading and data analysis. Rock Hill upped its credential rate 3% on an increase of 8.4% for soft skills. Math (-3.8%) and data (-2.7%) dropped, while reading went up 1.2%.
Despite is high overall rankings, the credential rate in Clover dropped 2.4% year-to-year. York dropped 3.1% despite small gains in reading, and Lancaster County went down 4.2% overall despite a soft skills uptick.
Chester County scored an overall credential rate of 57.1%, down 9.9% in a year. Math was down 16%, data 10.4%, reading 6.3% and soft skills 8.7%. About one in every three Chester County students scored a level one in math.
