BCSD students show strong performance on state testing

The South Carolina State Department of Education released each district’s state assessment scores on Tuesday, October 18.   Results showed Berkeley County School District (BCSD) students outperformed students across the state in all subject areas on the End of Course (EOC) exams and SC PASS in both Science and Social Studies. BCSD students also outperformed the state in English Language Arts and students made gains on SC READY math in relation to students across the state from last year, rising to within one percentage point of the state average in grades 3-8.

“My hat is off to our teachers and school administrators for adapting to new standards and new testing requirements every year for the past four years,” said BCSD Chief Academic Officer Dr. Kevin O’Gorman.  “2016 is a repeat of our highly successful 2014 results, for the second time since 2009 outperforming the state in every subject area on the EOC. I could not be more proud of what our teachers and students continue to accomplish together.”

Students were assessed using three state tests: EOC exams, SC PASS and SC READY. The EOC exams are curriculum-based assessments administered to 9^th through 12^th grade students and count for 20 percent of a student’s grade. Each EOC exam assesses students on their mastery of state developed curriculum standards. SC PASS was administered to 4^th through 8^th grade students, assessing Social Studies and Science. SC READY is a college and career readiness assessment for English Language Arts and Math. SC Ready that is administered to 3^rd through 8^th grade students.

Dr. O’Gorman added, “BCSD has a strong culture of collaboration and caring that supports teachers and administrators as they adapt to changing curriculum standards and assessments. Teachers work together regularly in professional learning communities to share classroom results and instructional strategies that meet the individual needs of our students. The 2016 test results are one measure of how this collaboration is making a difference for student success. Our teachers are truly our greatest asset.”