One Pee Dee high school’s students passed HSAP on first try in 2007
Shireese Bell/Morning News
Published: November 9, 2007
Mayo High School for Math, Science and Technology in Darlington County School District is the only high school in the Pee Dee to have 100 percent of its 10th-grade students pass both the state’s English language arts and math High School Assessment Program (HSAP), or exit exams, the first time, according to results released Friday by the state Department of Education.Published: November 9, 2007
“We’re very pleased with the results,” Mayo principal Arlene Johnson said. “My faculty and staff worked very hard with them to make sure that they’re prepared. We set high goals and have very high expectations for them and they come through every time.”
Darlington County School District Superintendent Dr. Rainey Knight said she’s proud of Mayo for this year’s accomplishments.
Johnson said the school uses HSAP diagnostic testing to see what the students’ strengths and weaknesses are; HSAP tutorial programs for students who need more help; and the school conducts a workshop in order to help students be better prepared for the exams.
Johnsonville (84.2 percent), West Florence (81.7 percent) and Hannah-Pamplico (81.6 percent) high schools each had more than 80 percent of their 10th-grade students pass both exams on the first attempt.
“Traditionally, our kids have done well on standardized tests,” Florence School District 5 Superintendent Dr. Dale Strickland said of Johnsonville High School students. “So much has happened so fast in the area of accountability and testing that you have to be current with those trends. You have to prepare those kids to be ready to take the test and move with the wave as it comes to you. Our folks have been very compatible and able to do that, and our kids just respond quite well.”
Johnsonville had a 15.2 percent increase in the number of students to pass both exams on the first attempt. The increase represents 84.2 percent of its 10th-grade students to pass both exams on the first attempt, compared with 69 percent percent last year.
The number of students taking the exams increased for most school districts in the Pee Dee, and most have seen an increase in the percentage of students passing both exams on the first attempt.
Creek Bridge High School in Marion School District 7 had the highest increase — 15.8 percent — in the number of 10th-grade students to pass both exams on the first attempt. That increase represents 60.9 percent of its students, compared with 45.1 percent last year.
Public high school students in South Carolina must pass the English language arts and math sections of HSAP to meet the state’s exit exam requirement for a diploma, according to the state Department of Education. The tests are administered in the students’ second year of high school, and students who don’t pass on their first attempts have other opportunities to retake the test they didn’t pass. Students must score a proficiency level of 2, 3 or 4 on both exit exams to pass.
Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, HSAP scores factor into the school’s Adequate Yearly Progress ratings, and students must score at a Level 3 or 4 by 2014.
On the Web
To view scores, visit http://ed.sc.gov/topics/assessment/scores/hsap/2007/default.cfm.
South Carolina Department of Education: http://www.ed.sc.gov
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