PrintPrintA report says that achievement gaps in South Carolina are smaller than the national average and have shrunk as test scores for the state’s black, Latino and low-income students have slowly increased over the past four to eight years.
Staff Report
Published April 2, 2009
South Carolina’s minority and lower-income students have raised their scores and reduced achievement gaps on standardized reading and math tests, according to a national report released this week by the Education Trust.
Education Watch tracks results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as “The Nation’s Report Card.” The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires states to participate in fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading tests.
Education Watch says that achievement gaps in South Carolina are smaller than the national average and have shrunk as test scores for the state’s black, Latino and low-income students have slowly increased over the past four to eight years.
According to the report, eighth-grade math performance by black students in South Carolina ranked ninth in the country when compared with the performance of similar students in other states and the District of Columbia. Fourth-grade reading performance by black students in South Carolina ranked 33rd.
The same trend was observed in the scores of the state’s Latino students: Eighth-grade math scores for South Carolina’s Latino population ranked No. 8 nationally, and fourth-grade reading performance was 28th in the national comparison.
S.C. eighth-graders whose family income qualified them for reduced-price or free school food programs ranked 17th nationally based on their 2007 math scores. Lower-income students in the fourth grade ranked 43rd in reading performance.
“Education Watch reminds us that South Carolina is a lot like the rest of the nation when it comes to how well our schools serve different groups of students,” said Jim Rex, state Superintendent of Education. “Students and teachers are working hard and making progress. But achievement gaps persist, and we need to improve faster if we’re going to be competitive.”
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