CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - The South Carolina Department of Education released its state report cards on Thursday showing 34 percent of tri-county schools are either below average or unsatisfactory.
The school and district report cards reflect the 2017-18 school and district performance, the Department of Education said in a statement. You can check how your child’s school did here.
The report cards provide a concise rating, different than in years past and are part of a new state law that requires ratings to be presented on a 100-point sale. The scale rating ranges from excellent to unsatisfactory.
Charleston County School District had the highest and lowest rated schools across the area.
Berkeley County School District and the Charleston County School District were the only two districts that had below average or unsatisfactory high schools.
The Berkeley County School District released a statement shortly after the public release of the report cards that said they find the report cards insufficient.
“They predetermined that 10 percent of the schools in this state would be failing or substandard. We wouldn’t want our teachers to measure the success of our students that way,” BCSD Superintendent Dr. Eddie Ingram said in the statement.
The highest rated high school in the Tri-County is Academic Magnet, a CCSD school.
The state gave the school a 97/100 and an “excellent” overall rating.
North Charleston High School is the lowest rated high school in the Tri-county with an “unsatisfactory” rating and a 31/100 overall rating.
“One thing you have to think about is this is a brand-new accountability system,” Buffy Roberts with CCSD said. “We have not had school report card ratings in three years. In looking at this, the hope is this will open conversations for how we can support schools better and our communities and our students.”
The state report cards also show the ability to compare student safety among districts.
For the 17-18 school year, the report cards show there were 53 incidents of sexual assault in the Charleston County School District.
Berkeley County School District had 7, and Dorchester District 2 had 2 reported sexual assaults on the report cards.
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