Aiken and Edgefield counties continue to beat the South Carolina average passing rate on state high school tests, according to results being released today.
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Students must pass both of these exams, along with meeting course credit requirements, to graduate with a standard diploma. In all, 79.4 percent of South Carolina students passed both tests on their first attempt last spring.
“English and mathematics are the foundational subjects in education,” State Superintendent of Education Mick Zais said in a news release. “On the state’s high school exit exam, every student group increased proficiency in English, but most groups declined in mathematics.”
Statewide, 88.6 percent of students passed the English exam last spring, a 2.7 percentage-point gain from 2010; but the math pass rate fell by 0.5 percentage point to 81.2 percent last spring.
In Aiken County, 89.4 percent passed the English test, a 2.6 percentage-point jump from 2010; but the district saw a similar drop as the state in math, with the pass rate falling 0.6 percentage point to 81.2 percent.
“We are proud of our students’ achievement on the HSAP. These scores indicate that many of our students are ready for postsecondary work and a career path,” Aiken County Schools Superintendent Beth Everitt said in a news release.
Edgefield County improved on both English and math.
The English pass rate was 89.2 percent, 1.8 percentage points higher than 2010, while math rose 3.2 percentage points to 84.8 percent.
State and local officials were not as pleased with the End of Course Examination Program results.
Ninth-graders and middle school pupils seeking to earn high school credit take end-of-course tests, which count for 20 percent of the course grade, in algebra I or math for technology, biology, English I, physical science and U.S. history.
The state average end-of-course scale scores ranged from 71 (equivalent to a D grade) on U.S. history to 80.9 (C) on algebra I.
The Aiken County average scores ranged from 69.9 (F) on U.S. history to 79.2 (C) on algebra I; and the Edgefield County scores ranged from 68.7 (F) on U.S. history to 80.5 (C) on algebra I.
For complete statewide results, go to ed.sc.gov.
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