BLYTHEWOOD/WINNSBORO – The three local high schools – Blythewood High School (BHS) and Westwood High School (WHS) in Richland 2 School District and Fairfield Central High School (FCHS) in Fairfield County School District – show varying results on the 2017 statewide, standardized tests used to determine the State Department of Education’s (SDE) annual report card scores.
ACT SCORES
2017 Average ACT Scores
All eleventh graders were given the ACT college readiness assessment test last spring. Scores for English, reading, math and science as well as a total score for all four subjects combined can range from 1 to 36; writing scores range from 2-12. FCHS’s total ACT score improved from 15.8 in 2016 to 16.3 in 2017, BHS’s total score decreased to 18 in 2017, down from 19.2 in 2016; and WHS’s 2017 composite ACT score of 16.2 was slightly decreased from its 2016 score of 16.4.
COLLEGE READY
The report cards also show the percentage of students deemed college-ready by meeting ACT benchmark scores for each of the four subjects tested.
Benchmark score for English is 18. That score was met by 38.4 percent of BHS students; 24 percent of WHS students and 22.8 percent of FCHS students.
Benchmark score for math is 22. That score was met by 20 percent of BHS students; 9.4 percent of WHS students and 13.2 percent of FCHS students.
Benchmark for reading is 22. That score was met by 29.9 percent of BHS students; 17.5 percent of FCHS students and 16.2 percent of WHS students.
Benchmark for science is 23. That score was met by 19.5 BHS students; 8.5 percent of WHS students and 7.9 percent of FCHS students.
Not as many students met the college-ready benchmarks in all four subjects tested by the ACT. That number was 11.7 percent of BHS students; 4.9 percent of WHS students and 3.2 percent of FCHS students.
SAT SCORES
Average 2017 SAT scores
Participation in SAT test taking is on a volunteer basis. Improvements in the 2017 SAT scores over 2016 could not be determined because the SAT was redesigned for this year using a different scale. For 2017, the highest score for each individual section on the SAT is 800 and the highest total score is 1600. The following chart is based on those scores.
END OF COURSE SCORES
End of Course Tests – Percent with scores 60 or above
The End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) provides tests in high school core courses and for courses taken in middle school for high school credit. The core courses are: Algebra 1 / Math for the Technologies 2, English 1, Biology 1, and US History and the Constitution. Statewide, almost 75% percent of students passed all subjects with a score of 60 or above.
ACT WorkKeys
Percent of students meeting Platinum, Gold or Silver thresholds for WorkKeys, 2017
According to the SDE website, the ACT WorkKeys® is a job skills assessment system measuring «real world» skills that employers believe are critical in the workplace. Like the ACT, It is given to 11th graders. The assessment consists of three sub-tests: Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information and Locating Information. Students can earn certificates at the Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze level on WorkKeys assessments.
GRADUATION RATES
The 2017 report cards show that South Carolina’s four year graduation rate increased to 84.6 percent, an all-time high and a two percent increase over the previous year. BHS’s graduation rate soared to 97.3 percent; FCHS’s graduation rate is 91 percent and WHS’s rate is 80.1 percent.
The school report card data is available on the SDE’s website and a new tool makes it very easy to see all the information for each individual district or school.
The current report cards do not give an overall district and school rating of “excellent, good, average or at-risk” for 2017. However, the 2018 report card will be revamped to meet the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act and the state’s new accountability system. Schools will not be rated for state accountability purposes until the fall of 2018 when the state will transition to a single accountability system.
Our local schools have lots of work to do.