Recently-elected S.C. Education Superintendent Ellen Weaver touted improvements in state schools during her first statewide annual school report cards Tuesday at a Barnwell County school.
“I’m happy to report that 22% of schools in South Carolina now receive an overall rating of excellence and that half of the students in South Carolina public schools are enrolled in a school with a rating of excellent or good, and that is a two and a half percent increase of schools that are rated excellent or good,” Weaver said in a WCSC TV report.
“We have seen a 7.8% increase in schools that are rated average and the best news is that we have seen an 8.5% decrease in schools that are rated below average or unsatisfactory. So as a great philosopher once said, we have a long way to go and a short time to get there.”
South Carolina students showed strong improvement in English Language Arts with 53.9% meeting or exceeding expectations, up from 46.6% in 2022 and 41.7% in 2018. High schoolers specifically showed significant gains, with 64.4% making a “C” or higher in English I, up from 58% in 2022 and 53.9% in 2018.
S.C. students’ math performance shows gains over last year, but is still lower than 2018 numbers. Elementary and middle school students’ scores increased, though on a more modest level than in reading. Around 41% of students met or exceeded expectations in math, up from 38.9% in 2022. But this is down from 60.5% in 2018. High school students performed worse last year with just 41.8% getting a “C” or higher in Algebra I, compared to 44.3% in 2022 and 60.5% in 2018.
Despite academic gains, school safety and discipline appear to be in decline. The number of fights in schools not involving a weapon rose 9.3% last year, to 2,202 compared to 2,014 in 2022. The number of in-school suspensions rose 13.4%, to 101,407. Out-of-school suspensions were up 9.2%, to 95,982. Expulsions rose 15%, to 1,422. Suspensions and expulsions, often called exclusionary disciplinary practices, disproportionately impact Black boys and students with special needs, according to a Post and Courier report.
In recent headlines:
CP NEWS: AFFA plans Charleston party to celebrates 25 years, looks to future. South Carolina LGBTQ+ rights nonprofit Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA) is hosting a celebration at 6 p.m. Thursday at The View at Morrison Yard in Charleston to commemorate its 25-year anniversary.
VP Harris to speak at College of Charleston today. Traffic delays are expected in the Charleston area midday Oct. 11 as Vice President Kamala Harris is set to speak at the College of Charleston as part of a nationwide speaking tour aimed at youth. Expect traffic delays at midday.
Charleston home sales slip, but prices nearly double in 10 years. Charleston-area home sales slipped for a 25th consecutive month in September as low inventory, rising interest rates and higher prices cut into demand.
Ghost tours resume at Charleston’s Old City Jail after renovation project. One of Charleston’s most iconic haunted locations will reopen this month for nightly tours just in time for the Halloween season.
North Charleston police look to bridge gap with Hispanic community. The North Charleston Police Department is working to build a better relationship between the community and law enforcement, specifically the Hispanic community.
Charleston County to replace crashed sheriff’s helicopter for up to $7M. The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office is requesting up to $7 million to cover the cost of a new helicopter and other specialized equipment needed to outfit it for law enforcement use.
Charleston police to use proposed $800k grant in ‘smart policing.’ The Charleston Police Department is looking to expand existing programs that targets traffic, property and violent crime with a proposed grant.
S.C. again looks to remove cell phones from prisons. Bryan Stirling, head of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, announced the agency’s intent to ask for a “large budget request” to expand a pilot program that allowed them to make a sizable dent in contraband cell phones at one of the state’s largest prisons.
New data show that S.C. is still one of the worst places for debt in the U.S. Urban Institute broke out debt numbers focused on South Carolinians ages 18 to 24. It doesn’t look good.
- To get dozens of South Carolina news stories every business day, contact the folks at SC Clips.
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