State Report Cards: Local Schools Improve

The state's School Report Card rating system has rated Berkeley County again with an absolute rating of "Average," meaning the district, overall, is meeting standards for progress toward 2020 performance goals, according to data released from the state Department of Education on Thursday.

In the Goose Creek and Hanahan area, all of our individual schools rated at lest Average. There were also eight local schools rated "Excellent," meaning the schools substantially exceed standards. This includes Stratford High School that improved from a "Good" rating in 2010 and Hanahan High School that was rated average in 2010.

Absolute ratings are based on a set of test scores and cover the most recently completed school year. Schools receive absolute ratings based on how students perform on the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS), according to the state department. High schools include end-of-course exams, the High School Assessment Program (HSAP) exams and graduation rates.

Other Excellent rated local schools included Goose Creek Primary, Hanahan Elementary, Howe Hall AIMS, Hanahan Middle, Marrington Middle and Westview Middle.

Sites rated Good included Westview Primary, Cane Bay Elementary, Marrington Elementary, Westview Elementary, Cane Bay High and Goose Creek High.

And Average rated schools include Devon Forest Elementary, Sedgefield Intermediate, College Park Middle and Sedgefield Middle.

PDFs of individual school reports are available above.

Eleven out of 86 school districts statewide received an Excellent absolute rating compared to six districts in 2010. Twenty-two districts earned a Good rating compared to 12 in 2010.

At the same time, the number of districts rated At-Risk also increased by three from the six reported in 2010.

As for schools, 76 schools have been rated as Excellent in 2011 bringing the total number of schools to 318 or 27 percent of the state’s schools compared to 242 schools or 21 percent.

At the other end of the ratings, the number of schools receiving an At-Risk rating stayed the same at 69 schools. No primary schools received the rating.

Schools and districts also receive a rating for growth. Growth ratings make a comparison of test scores from the recent school year to previous years. This rating shows a “trend” through the years and is a secondary measurement for schools and districts.

For 2011, 251 schools received an Excellent growth rating, compared to 263 in 2010. The number of schools that received an At-risk growth rating has declined from 116 to 75.

Overall, Berkeley County's growth rating was Good. Two local schools — Westview Primary and Goose Creek High — had growth ratings at Below Average.

As for the state’s on-time graduation rate, the score was 73.6 percent compared to 2010’s score of 72.1 percent. The state’s graduation rate was at it’s highest in 2003 at 78 percent.

Locally, three of our schools beat the state average, with Hanahan at 80.6 percent, Cane Bay at 78.3 percent and Stratford at 77 percent. Goose Creek's graduation rate was at 69.1 percent.