Expect More South Carolina

Expect More South Carolina

An Introduction to the South Carolina Education Report Card

South Carolina is required by federal and state law to create annual report cards for the public with key data about how students and schools are doing.

Background & History

In South Carolina, schools and school districts have received ratings since 2001. However, the SC School Report Cards published in November 2018 were the first in three years.

Why the Delay? This hiatus occurred to allow for SC to join what was once two accountability systems for schools: one federal, and one state. The joint system was approved by the SC Education Oversight Committee and was submitted to the US Dept. of Education for approval.

Why They Exist Improving school performance begins with understanding the conditions, successes, and challenges of each school. The South Carolina School Report Cards provide information to build that understanding. The information enables entire communities – educators, parents, students, business leaders and others – to ensure all students achieve at high levels.

The South Carolina School Report Cards allow parents and others to see how schools are improving toward meeting the Transformational Goals the state has set. Click here to learn about those transformational goals.

Understanding The Indicators

What do the SC School Report Cards measure?

South Carolina schools are measured in several areas, called performance indicators. Federal and state law require that states measure certain indicators; others were approved by the State Superintendent of Education and the SC Education Oversight Committee for use in the school accountability system.

Click through the indicators to discover more information about each one.

Download the guide to SC’s Report Card

School Ratings System

Why the Ratings Exist

The words used to rate schools have been extensively debated in SC, as in other states. With the joint accountability system, the SC General Assembly chose to rate schools using the following terms and definitions which are established in state law. This ratings system provides parents, teachers and stakeholders a simple way to evaluate overall whether a particular school or system is exceeding, meeting or not meeting the criteria required in the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.

Understanding the Ratings

Each school will receive an overall Rating and each rated indicator will receive a separate rating. To learn more about how each of the indicator Ratings is calculated, click here for our parent-friendly guide.

What This Means

Schools receive Ratings for individual indicators as well as an Overall School Rating. Much like student grades, student indicators are rated based on five levels of performance. The highest performance level is a Rating of “Excellent” while the lowest level of performance is “Unsatisfactory.”

The Rating Scale

Excellent School performance substantially exceeds the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.
Good School performance exceeds the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.
Average School performance meets the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.
Below Average School performance is in jeopardy of not meeting the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.
Unsatisfactory School performance fails to meet the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.
Go to the SC Report Card →