South Carolina's public schools and districts are gaining little ground in improving academic performance, according to 2009 annual school report cards.
While considered a baseline year, in part because of the PASS test given for the first time last year, State Education Superintendent Jim Rex still called 2009 S.C. School Report Cards results "sobering."
"These scores are either stagnating or, in some cases, dropping, which might be the canary in the coal mine right now if we don't address some of these needs right now," Rex said.
"Right now, I fear we are losing some of the momentum we had in the past," he added, noting He noted persistent generational poverty and families in crisis because of the recession as working against improvement.
The annual report cards grade schools and districts based on standardized test scores, graduation rates and other educational data. Schools and districts receive "excellent," "good," "average," "below average" or "at risk" ratings.
Because of new statistical recalibrations used in 2009, more elementary and middle schools were rated excellent or good, according to report cards.
But high schools, a bright spot in 2008, lost ground last year, with lower graduation rates and exit exam scores among factors cited.
Still, with the recalibrations, about 78 percent of schools overall rated average or better - nearly 20 percentage points higher than in 2008.
But a concern was ratings for school districts themselves, which plummeted across the state. Only 29 percent of districts were rated average or higher, compared to roughly 45 percent in 2008.
Only one district, Fort Mill in York County, was rated excellent. Among eight Midlands districts, all posted average or lower overall ratings.
If some statistics seem at odds, state education officials said part of the disconnect lies with that new set of statistical indexes and analyses.
The annual school report cards, normally released in November, were delayed until April to allow for the switch to new standardized tests and a new scoring system for third- through eighth-graders.
Scoring for high schools and districts hasn't changed - for now.
"The performance was re-centered and there is a different criteria, a different range of indexes for elementary and middle schools," explained Dana Yow, with the S.C. Education Oversight Committee.
"If you have an elementary school whose index was 3.4, last year that translated into a rating of average. This year, it translated to a rating of excellent."
That means elementary and middle schools "did not have to cross a higher bar to get the higher rating," said Jo Anne Anderson, chairwoman of the S.C. Education Oversight Committee.
On the other hand, district ratings - which dropped this year - involved a separate criteria and a different pool of students, Anderson said.
She acknowledged there will be a disconnect until the system put in place by the EOC is fully recalibrated, so that 2009 may be viewed more as a benchmark year.
Richland 1 superintendent Percy Mack worried that the varying indexes may confuse parents.
"It is going to be difficult in a lot of cases for parents to understand why elementary and middle schools are doing well and high schools are dropping off the page," Mack said. But he suggested analyzing this year's data "is almost like a house settling. You see cracks here and cracks there. . . I think it is going to take some more work. I think you have to get a year's worth of data to look at."
Performance benchmarks have been increasing annually, making the higher ratings ever harder to achieve.
Officials won't decide whether to do that with the new system for at least a few years, allowing the state to see how Congress changes federal accountability goals.
In 2009, there were significant demographic and socioeconomic gaps among elementary and middle school students who took the new Palmetto Assessment of State Standards test, or PASS, state officials said. White students scored consistently higher than black and Hispanic students.
Education officials stressed that PASS scores cannot be compared to the PACT test that was administered in the past.
Education officials note poverty rates continue to rise, stressing the education system.
Statewide, one in four schools face extreme poverty, with more than 90 percent of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. Schools' average poverty rate is 75 percent.
This year's results prompted strong official reaction from the EOC, which was established by the Legislature to measure educational progress.
The 2009 school and district report cards provide "little evidence that improved student academic performance in South Carolina schools is occurring at an acceptable rate," the committee said in a news release.
Earlier this year, South Carolina missed out on a lucrative federal Race to the Top grant, placing sixth out of 41 applicants. Rex praised that showing and said the state would enter the second round of competition.
Rex has consistently lamented the loss of some $700 million in education funding statewide over the last 19 months and argues that the Legislature cannot turn its back on the schools.
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