Four Pee Dee schools ‘excellent’ in testing
Shireese Bell/Morning News
Published: November 14, 2007
Published: November 14, 2007
Four schools in the Pee Dee received an Excellent score for both the Absolute and Excellent ratings, according to School Report Cards released by the state Department of Education on Thursday.
Southside Early Childhood Center and Mayo High School for Math, Science and Technology in Darlington County School District; Easterling Primary School in Marion School District 1; and Hemingway Vocational Center in Williamsburg County School District all received an Excellent for both ratings of the School Report Card.
Mayo and Hemingway both met Adequate Yearly Progress goals for this year. Adequate Yearly Progress goals for primary schools haven’t been released yet.
Briggs Elementary School in Florence School District 1 received a Good score for both the Absolute and Excellent School Report Card ratings.
Florence 1 Superintendent Larry Jackson declined to comment on the scores until he has had time to review them.
Darlington County School District Superintendent Dr. Rainey Knight, Lee County School District Superintendent Dr. Lloyd Hunter and Florence School District 4 Superintendent Dr. Bertha McCants were not available for comment by press time Wednesday.
Dillon School District 2 Superintendent Dr. John Kirby said while he’s concerned about the report card rating, he’s more concerned about what the administration is trying to do to improve the school.
“We cannot be bogged down by the report cards. We want them to be better, but the bottom line is, are we using best practices in school and doing the best we can to reach these children,” Kirby said. “While we’re trying to do this, the bar is raised again next year.”
Latta elementary, middle and high school received an Average, Below Average and Good, respectively, for its Absolute ratings. The school’s Improvement ratings were Average, Unsatisfactory and Below Average. No rating is available for Latta Early Childhood Center.
Kirby said middle schools have been an issue statewide, including his own, in terms of increasing scores.
He said the district has implemented new programs to help increase student achievement including single-gender classes, small focus groups, interventionists and diagnostic testing.
Randall Malichi, public information officer for Marlboro County School District, released the following statement concerning the district’s School Report Cards:
“Superintendent Alisa Goodman, along with the district administrative staff, has concerns relative to the results reported in our district’s most recent report card. As we review these results, we will strive to incorporate the changes necessary to enhance the effectiveness and appropriateness of our educational delivery system for the benefit of all of our children.”
Marlboro County School District officials weren’t the only ones who had concerns about this year’s report cards.
South Florence High School principal Neil Vincent informed the Morning News on Wednesday of changes to his school’s report card ratings.
Vincent said this year’s Absolute and Improvement ratings should be listed as Good and Excellent, respectively. The school originally was listed as having Absolute and Improvement ratings of Average and Good, respectively.
Hartsville High School’s ratings also were changed Wednesday. The school’s Absolute rating is now Below Average instead of Unsatisfactory. The Improvement rating remains at Unsatisfactory.
The Education Accountability Act (EAA) of 1998 requires the state develop annual School Report Cards in order to report on the performance of schools and districts, according to the S.C. Education Oversight Committee’s Web site, www.sceoc.org The EAA also requires annual report cards for charter schools, alternative schools and vocational schools.
The ratings are based on student performance on standardized tests taken in the spring.
On the Web
To view results, visit https://ed.sc.gov/topics/researchandstats/schoolreportcard/2007/default.cfm
South Carolina Education Oversight Committee: www.sceoc.org
Southside Early Childhood Center and Mayo High School for Math, Science and Technology in Darlington County School District; Easterling Primary School in Marion School District 1; and Hemingway Vocational Center in Williamsburg County School District all received an Excellent for both ratings of the School Report Card.
Mayo and Hemingway both met Adequate Yearly Progress goals for this year. Adequate Yearly Progress goals for primary schools haven’t been released yet.
Briggs Elementary School in Florence School District 1 received a Good score for both the Absolute and Excellent School Report Card ratings.
Florence 1 Superintendent Larry Jackson declined to comment on the scores until he has had time to review them.
Darlington County School District Superintendent Dr. Rainey Knight, Lee County School District Superintendent Dr. Lloyd Hunter and Florence School District 4 Superintendent Dr. Bertha McCants were not available for comment by press time Wednesday.
Dillon School District 2 Superintendent Dr. John Kirby said while he’s concerned about the report card rating, he’s more concerned about what the administration is trying to do to improve the school.
“We cannot be bogged down by the report cards. We want them to be better, but the bottom line is, are we using best practices in school and doing the best we can to reach these children,” Kirby said. “While we’re trying to do this, the bar is raised again next year.”
Latta elementary, middle and high school received an Average, Below Average and Good, respectively, for its Absolute ratings. The school’s Improvement ratings were Average, Unsatisfactory and Below Average. No rating is available for Latta Early Childhood Center.
Kirby said middle schools have been an issue statewide, including his own, in terms of increasing scores.
He said the district has implemented new programs to help increase student achievement including single-gender classes, small focus groups, interventionists and diagnostic testing.
Randall Malichi, public information officer for Marlboro County School District, released the following statement concerning the district’s School Report Cards:
“Superintendent Alisa Goodman, along with the district administrative staff, has concerns relative to the results reported in our district’s most recent report card. As we review these results, we will strive to incorporate the changes necessary to enhance the effectiveness and appropriateness of our educational delivery system for the benefit of all of our children.”
Marlboro County School District officials weren’t the only ones who had concerns about this year’s report cards.
South Florence High School principal Neil Vincent informed the Morning News on Wednesday of changes to his school’s report card ratings.
Vincent said this year’s Absolute and Improvement ratings should be listed as Good and Excellent, respectively. The school originally was listed as having Absolute and Improvement ratings of Average and Good, respectively.
Hartsville High School’s ratings also were changed Wednesday. The school’s Absolute rating is now Below Average instead of Unsatisfactory. The Improvement rating remains at Unsatisfactory.
The Education Accountability Act (EAA) of 1998 requires the state develop annual School Report Cards in order to report on the performance of schools and districts, according to the S.C. Education Oversight Committee’s Web site, www.sceoc.org The EAA also requires annual report cards for charter schools, alternative schools and vocational schools.
The ratings are based on student performance on standardized tests taken in the spring.
On the Web
To view results, visit https://ed.sc.gov/topics/researchandstats/schoolreportcard/2007/default.cfm
South Carolina Education Oversight Committee: www.sceoc.org
PEE DEE RATINGS
The five scoring categories are Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average and Unsatisfactory.
The five scoring categories are Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average and Unsatisfactory.
n Absolute ratings for Pee Dee schools: 11 schools received an Excellent rating; 13 schools received a Good rating; 32 schools received an Average rating; 43 schools received a Below Average rating; and 40 schools received an Unsatisfactory rating, up from 35 schools last year.
n As for the schools’ Improvement ratings: 12 schools received an Excellent rating; 14 schools received a Good rating; 10 schools received an Average rating; 41 schools received a Below Average rating; and 60 schools received an Unsatisfactory rating, up from 55 schools last year.
n No school districts received an Excellent or Good rating. Five districts received an Average rating: Chesterfield, Dillon 3 (Latta), Florence, Florence 2 (Pamplico) and Florence 5 (Johnsonville). Seven districts received a Below Average rating: Darlington, Dillon 1 (Lake View), Dillon 2 (Dillon), Florence 3 (Lake City), Florence 4 (Timmonsville), Marion 7 (Rains) and Williamsburg. Four districts received an Unsatisfactory rating: Lee, Marion 1 (Marion), Marion 2 (Mullins) and Marlboro.
n As for the schools’ Improvement ratings: 12 schools received an Excellent rating; 14 schools received a Good rating; 10 schools received an Average rating; 41 schools received a Below Average rating; and 60 schools received an Unsatisfactory rating, up from 55 schools last year.
n No school districts received an Excellent or Good rating. Five districts received an Average rating: Chesterfield, Dillon 3 (Latta), Florence, Florence 2 (Pamplico) and Florence 5 (Johnsonville). Seven districts received a Below Average rating: Darlington, Dillon 1 (Lake View), Dillon 2 (Dillon), Florence 3 (Lake City), Florence 4 (Timmonsville), Marion 7 (Rains) and Williamsburg. Four districts received an Unsatisfactory rating: Lee, Marion 1 (Marion), Marion 2 (Mullins) and Marlboro.
Advertisement
View More:
No tags are associated with this article
Not what you're looking for? Try our quick search:
Advertisement