The South Carolina Department of Education released the 2021-2022 school year results for the South Carolina Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (SCPASS) in Science and the South Carolina College-and Career-Ready Assessments (SC READY) examinations in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics given in the elementary and middle school grade levels. “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,” said State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman. “We are alarmed and very concerned about the regression we see in areas like math, while encouraged by what we see in ELA. Much more will need to be done to reach our high standards and goals for the students of South Carolina, and it will take the combined efforts of educators, parents, and other stakeholders as we move forward.” Several initiatives have been implemented on the state and local level to address learning loss during the pandemic, including a Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) professional learning program and a partnership with the South Carolina State Library to provide free online tutoring for South Carolina students through federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. ESSER funds have also been used to create a new Instruction Hub, a digital library for all teachers to provide access to high-quality, effective resources aligned to the South Carolina College and Career-Ready standards. Forty-six percent of the 113,880 fourth- and sixth-grade students tested in 2021-2022 met or exceeded state standards in science. This is an increase from 43 percent in 2020-2021 when 101,509 fourth- and sixth-graders were tested and a decrease from 49 percent in 2018-2019 when 178,756 fourth-, sixth-. and eighth-graders were tested. SC READY is a statewide assessments in ELA and Mathematics that are aligned to the South Carolina College and Career Ready Standards for ELA and Math. Nearly 47 percent of the 347,962 third- through eighth-grade students tested met or exceeded expectations in ELA on state assessments during the 2021-2022 school year. This is an increase from around 42 percent (305,820 tested) during 2020-2021 and 45 percent (355,930 tested) during the 2018-2019 year. Math scores mirror national assessment data, which show a decline post-pandemic. Just 39 percent of students met or exceeded expectations last school year, an increase from around 37 percent during 2020-2021 and decrease from around 45 percent during the 2018-2019 school year. |