Horry County Schools outperforms state averages on three major assessments

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Horry County Schools students fared better than their counterparts statewide on a trio of major benchmarks last year, district officials said this week.

Scores on SC READY — a standardized test for English, math and science for third through eighth graders — are reported as “exceeds standard,’ “meets standard,” “approaches standard” or “does not meet standard” in all areas.

Science assessment results weren’t included on 2024 state report cards due to changes in standards. HCS students scoring at the “meets or exceeds standard” levels on the English portion of SC READY exams were 6.5% higher than state averages, while math scores in those categories were 7.2% above the median.

The End-of-Course Examination Program, or EOCOP, measures achievement in basic algebra, biology, English and U.S. history and Constitution knowledge for high schools.

HCS students surpassed state averages on all four tests, with year-over-year gains reported in three areas.

• In algebra, 88.3% of district students passed the exam, up seven percentage points from last year and ahead of the state’s average passage rate of 72.5%
• In biology, 71/9% of district students passed the exam, up 2.6 percentage points from last year and ahead of the state’s average passage rate of 62.9%.
• In English II, 87.7% of district students passed the exam, nearly equaling last year’s results and ahead of the state’s average passing rate of 85.8%.
• In U.S. History and Constitution, 71.5% of district students passed the exam, compared to 58.% statewide.

The South Carolina Career Ready Test is given to third-year high school students to measure employability skills through math, reading and data. Assessments are given an achievement and scale score from one to five based on federal Department of Education standards.

To be career-ready, students must score a three or higher.

Of the 3,4809 HCS students who completed all three employability skills assessments, 78.7% received a credential, with 61.3% getting a three or higher. Statewide, just 52.9% did so, officials said.

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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12 . See more of his work here .

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