SDOC releases 2013 PASS, HSAP and ESEA Ratings

The School District of Oconee County released today their 2013 PASS, HSAP and ESEA ratings. PASS 2013 – PASS (Palmetto Assessment of State Performance) is the major accountability test given to students in South Carolina in grades 3-8, and the results in the School District of Oconee County were mixed for students last year.  In comparing the aggregate number of students who met or exceeded performance, SDOC’s performance was up in English-language arts, writing, science, and social studies.

School level aggregate performance on PASS includes …

• 13 of 16 schools improving in ELA performance;
• 9 of 16 schools improving in Writing;
• 6 of 16 schools improving in Mathematics;
• 10 of 16 schools improving in Science; and
• 11 of 16 schools improving in Social Studies.

HSAP 2013 – HSAP is also known as the “Exit Exam,” and it must be passed by high school students in order to receive a high school diploma in our state.  This test is administered for the first time to tenth graders, and the number of students passing on the first attempt improved district-wide.

ESEA RATINGS 2013 – As part of a waiver received from the US Department of Education, a rating system has been developed by the SC Department of Education.  The system relies on PASS performance to rate elementary and middle schools based on current year performance.  HSAP and End-of-Course Exams in Biology and U.S. History, along with the 4-year high school graduation rates, are used to rate high schools.  This is the second year this rating system has existed to replace “adequate yearly progress” under No Child Left Behind.  With one exception, all schools in our district met or exceeded progress deemed sufficient under the ESEA Waiver.

 

 

 

 

*Title I Schools

Dr. Michael Lucas, Superintendent, stated, “I would like to congratulate students, parents, teachers, and school staff for working hard to meet the high levels of expectation required under this rating system.   There’s always room for improvement, and I know school staff members will be studying the information when they return on August 13 for ways to insure better performance in 2014. This rating system increases in difficulty each year under the provisions of the waiver received by the SC Department of Education.  Our goal in Oconee County will be to look closely at our curriculum and help students better prepare for the assessments given annually by the state.” Two of the district’s Title I schools were named top performers in the state among Title I schools.  James M. Brown Elementary and Orchard Park Elementary were named “Reward Schools for Performance,” and this was the second year for this honor for staff and students at James M. Brown Elementary.  For additional information regarding the score reports, you may access the data at the SC Department of Education website at http://www.ed.sc.gov/data/esea/.