CCSD students make historic gains on SC READY test
September 5, 2023
Charleston County School District (CCSD) students improved reading scores to record levels in all grades and among all student groups, according to the recently released SC READY test results from last Spring. This is a major boost to CCSD’s priority goal to improve the number of students reading at their expected grade level.
Every grade tested, from third through eighth, and every demographic group of students saw gains last year, continuing a two-year trend of improvement.
According to Deputy Superintendent Anita Huggins, “ To see gains in every student group is simply remarkable. The impact of extraordinary teaching in classrooms, visionary leadership by principals, and servant leadership by school and district-based teams is a testament to their true belief that all students can achieve at very high levels. We are incredibly proud of these results and are determined to continue this success by supporting students, teachers, and leaders.”
Overall, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the State’s reading expectations for their grade improved 7.3 percentage points to 60.5 percent. That represents nearly a 25 percent rate of improvement from the 48.5 percent of students reading at grade level two years ago.
While all demographic groups saw improvement, the two groups with the biggest gains were high-poverty and Black students.
“The historic nature of our math and reading achievement cannot be understated,” said CCSD Chief Academic Officer Michelle Simmons. “These data are years in the making. I am particularly proud of schools, school teams, teachers, and learning services. Undeniably, our system has leveraged ESSER and has invested wisely and correctly. We are trending in the right direction.”
CCSD’s percentage of students reading at grade level is 6.8 points above the State average for all districts.
SC READY scores were also released for math and science. CCSD saw improvements in the overall performance in both subjects, and local students were above the State average on both tests.
Like reading, the percentage of CCSD students meeting expected standards in math were at the highest level in the seven years of the test. All demographic groups in CCSD also showed improvement from last year.
For more information, graphics, and summary data, please see this link.
