SC school report cards for 2020 are out. But COVID-19 makes them hard to grade
South Carolina has released its 2020 school report cards.
The report cards look the same as 2019, but contain far less data because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which paused standardized testing and school surveys.
Notably schools will not be given a designation of “excellent,” “good,” “average,” “below average,” or “unsatisfactory,” the S.C. Department of Education said in a news release.
The report cards still show data such as graduation rates, average teacher pay, English learners’ progress, the number of reported violent acts, per-student spending and more.
“The 2019-2020 school year was unlike any other that our state and nation has faced,” S.C. Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said in the news release. “With facilities closed due to the novel coronavirus in March our schools were unable to administer many of the accountability measures that are used for the basis of our annual report cards. Instead, these report cards highlight those aspects of our education system such as safety, finance, and classroom environment that are equally important.”
Below is how school districts in Lexington and Richland Counties performed on a few key metrics for the 2020 report card. Go to https://www.screportcards.com/ to view report cards for school districts and individual schools.
Graduation Rate
Lexington 1: 90.7%
Lexington 2: 80.9%
Lexington 3: 89.1%
Lexington 4: 82.6%
Lexington-Richland 5: 90.7%
Richland 1: 82.9%
Richland 2: 87.3%
Statewide: 82.1%
Percent of teachers returning from last year
Lexington 1: 91.5%
Lexington 2: 86.9%
Lexington 3: 89.4%
Lexington 4: 83.3%
Lexington-Richland 5: 91.8%
Richland 1: 82.1%
Richland 2: 86.0%
Students in graduation cohort who are college or career ready
Lexington 1: 74.8%
Lexington 2: 49.7%
Lexington 3: 65.9%
Lexington 4: 47.8%
Lexington-Richland 5: 78.2%
Richland 1: 53.6%
Richland 2: 67.1%
Kindergarten readiness
Lexington 1: 36.4%
Lexington 2: 34.2%
Lexington 3: 44.0%
Lexington 4: 38.2%
Lexington-Richland 5: 41.2%
Richland 1: 35.1%
Richland 2: 41.6%
Statewide: 39.2%
Total per pupil expenditure
Lexington 1: $11,040
Lexington 2: $10,626
Lexington 3: $12,798
Lexington 4: $10,160
Lexington-Richland 5: $12,177
Richland 1: $15,009
Richland 2: $11,045
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 10:10 AM.