Greenville County Schools outperforms state on SC READY, Career Readiness: What to know

When it comes to statewide test scores, Greenville County Schools excels.

Elementary and middle schools students within the school district outperformed the state on SC READY English Language Arts and Math assessments. On the End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP), middle and high schools students outperformed the state in all subject areas. Seventy-six percent of GCS students who took spring 2024's South Carolina’s Career Ready Assessment earned a credential, outperforming the state rate at 72.2%.

"This year's achievements highlight the intentional and focused work of our students, faculty, and district administration,” Superintendent Dr. Burke Royster said in a news release. “The collective efforts have enabled students to not only excel academically but also prepare for their future with essential credentials that demonstrate their readiness to enter the workforce or continue their education. None of this would be possible without the support of our Board of Trustees, and I want to express my gratitude to them. Together, we will continue to strive toward our goal of growth in every aspect of learning."

Here's what to know about the test scores.

SC READY

The latest assessment data for the 2023-24 school year indicates GCS elementary and middle school students outperformed the state in the South Carolina College and Career Ready Assessments for English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. These assessments are administered from third through eighth grade:

∎ Elementary Schools: GCS elementary school students outperformed the state in every grade level in ELA and math for the 2023-24 school year. Two-thirds of GCS elementary schools maintained or increased ELA and/or math scores from 2022-23 to 2023-24 school year.

∎ Middle Schools: GCS middle school students outperformed the state in every grade level in ELA and math for the 2023-24 school year. Eighty one percent of GCS middle schools maintained or increased ELA and/or math scores from 2022-23 to 2023-24 school year.

SC READY English Language Arts 2023-24: % Meets or Exceeds

∎ 3rd grade, 53.8 (SC), 61.7 (GSC), 7.9% over state

∎ 4th grade: 57.2 (SC), 64.4 (GSC), 7.2% over state

∎ 5th grade: 55.6 (SC), 63.4 (GSC), 7.8% over state

∎ 6th grade: 53.7 (SC), 57.9 (GSC), 4.2% over state

∎ 7th grade: 50.3 (SC), 55.7 (GSC), 5.4% over state

∎ 8th grade: 50.3 (SC), 55.4 (GSC), 5.1% over state

SC READY Math 2023-24: % Meets or Exceeds

∎ 3rd: 54.6 (SC), 65.0 (GSC), 10.4% over state

∎ 4th grade: 51.0 (SC), 61.0 (GSC), 10.0% over state

∎ 5th: 45.7 (SC), 57.4 (GSC), 11.7% over state

∎ 6th grade: 38.4 (SC), 47.4 (GSC), 9.0% over state

∎ 7th grade: 33.7 (SC), 41.4 (GSC), 7.7% over state

∎ 8th grade: 30.3 (SC), 37.6 (GSC), 7.3% over state

End of Course Exam Program

∎ Algebra 1: Every GCS high school maintained or increased passage rates from the 2022-23 to 2023-24 school year. The passage rate district-wide significantly increased from 68.8% to 78.3 % from the 2022-23 to 2023-24 school year.

∎ English II: Seventy-three percent of GCS high schools outperformed the state passage rate. Two-thirds of GCS high schools maintained or increased passage rates from the 2022-23 to 2023-24 school year.

∎ Biology I: Every GCS high school showed increased passage rates from the 2022-23 to 2023-24 school year. The passage rate district-wide significantly increased from 62.5% to 72.4% from the 2022-23 to 2023-24 school year.

∎ U.S. History: The passage rate for GCS students on the US History and the Constitution exam exceeded the state passage rate by 7.8%.

End of Course Exam Program: % Passing

∎ Algebra I: 72.5 (SC), 83.3 (GCS), 10.8% over state

∎ English II: 85.8 (SC), 87.6 (GSC), 1.8% over state

∎ Biology I: 62.9 (SC), 72.4 (GSC), 9.5% over state

∎ U.S. History: 58.8 (SC), 66.6 (GSC), 7.8% over state

South Carolina Career Ready Test

Career readiness assessment WIN (Worldwide Interactive Network) measures essential workforce skills and contains four parts: Math Assessment, Data Assessment, Reading Assessment and Soft Skill Assessment. The assessment is taken by students in the 11th grade. The assessment can be taken by students in the 12th grade who did not take it or receive a career-ready designation the previous year.

Compared to the state, the percentage of GCS students who took the South Carolina Career Readiness Assessment scored Level 3 or higher across three sections. A greater percentage of GSC students also passed the Essential Soft Skills section of the assessment compared to students across the state.

South Carolina Career Readiness Credentials among GCS students:

∎ Level 2 (received credential): 76.0% (score of level 2 or higher on all exams).

∎ Level 3 (or higher meet the Accountability criteria for College and Career Ready): 58.1% (score of level 3 or higher on all exams).

∎ Level 4: 39.7% (score of level 4 or higher on all exams).

∎ Level 5: 1.8% (score of level 5 or higher on all exams).

Nina Tran covers trending topics for The Greenville News. Reach her via email at ntran@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville County Schools outperforms state on SC READY, Career Readiness: What to know