December 6, 2007
EDITOR’S NOTE: End-of-course results by school and district are available at http://ed.sc.gov More Horry County Schools’ students received passing scores last year on end-of-course algebra and physical science testing mandated by the state’s Education Accountability Act, according to results released by the South Carolina Department of Education. The percentage of students passing English I remained unchanged from last year. Although high school students have long taken traditional final exams in many courses, South Carolina’s introduction of statewide end-of-course testing several years ago marked the first time that a standards-based, uniform test was administered to all students in the same courses. Algebra I testing began in the 2003-2004 school year, while English I and physical science were added a year later. Results count for 20 percent of each student’s final course grade. For 2006-07, Horry County Schools’ grade distribution for English I was 10.1 percent A, 16.7 percent B, 21.5 percent C, 19.9 percent D and 31.8 percent F. Grade distribution for Algebra I was 16 percent A, 16.9 percent B, 30.6 percent C, 22.8 percent D and 13.8 percent F. Grade distribution for physical science was 12.1 percent A, 9.8 percent B, 20.6 percent C, 20.5 percent D and 37 percent F. By comparison, the statewide grade distribution for English I was 7.4 percent A, 13.9 percent B, 21.6 percent C, 21.9 percent D and 35.2 percent F. Grade distribution for Algebra I was 14.5 percent A, 16.1 percent B, 29 percent C, 23.2 percent D and 17.2 percent F. Grade distribution for physical science was 9.3 percent A, 7.7 percent B, 16 percent C, 16.7 percent D and 50.3 percent F. Under South Carolina’s uniform grading scale, an A is 93-100; a B is 85-92; a C is 77-84; and a D is 70-76. Anything 69 or below is an F. Algebra I Thirty-three percent of the 3,116 HCS students tested in algebra scored an A or B during the 2006-2007 school year. The mean scale score was 80.6, a decline from 81.1 the year before and equivalent to a C on the state’s 100-point uniform grading scale. Grade distribution was mixed compared to the previous year. There were fewer F’s, A’s, and B’s, and more grades of C or D. The overall passing rate improved by four-tenths of a percentage point. At the state level, 31 percent of the 59,732 students tested scored an A or B last year. The mean scale score was 79.6, the same as the year before and equivalent to a C on the state’s 100-point uniform grading scale. Grade distribution was mixed compared to the previous year. There were fewer F’s and A’s, and more grades of B, C or D. The overall passing rate improved by 1.5 percentage points. Physical Science Physical science had the lowest mean score among the three EOCEP tests but gained 5.5 scale score points over the previous year, moving the mean from 68.8 up to 74.3. Students in 2006-07 recorded significantly more A’s than the previous year, while the percentage of F’s dropped by nearly 17 percentage points. The number of students that earned A’s increased by 6.6 percentage points. At the state level physical science had the lowest mean score among the three EOCEP tests but gained 1.5 scale score points over the previous year, moving the mean from 69.2 up to 70.7. Students in 2006-07 recorded more A’s than the previous year, while the percentage of F’s dropped by more than three points. English I HCS students’ English I test results increased slightly in 2006-2007, going from a mean scale score of 75.8 to 76.0. Scores were largely unchanged in the percentages of students earning A’s, D’s and F’s. More students made B’s and fewer students made C’s. At the state level, English I test results declined, going from a mean scale score of 76.1 to 74.4. English I was the only subject to see a higher percentage of failures in 2006-2007. The Education Accountability Act of 1998 mandates the end-of-course tests. In math, students enrolled in Algebra I courses and Mathematics for the Technologies 2 take the algebra end-of-course test. Content standards for both courses are the same. U.S. History and Constitution tests were added in the 2006-2007 school year but are not yet part of the student accountability system. A rapid scoring system enables schools to include the test scores in students’ final course grades. Students’ scores are posted on a secure password-protected website within 36 hours after answer documents are received by the scoring contractor. Districts now have the option to administer EOCEP tests online. Forty percent of HCS students took the test online, compared to 25 percent who took online tests statewide. Grade Distribution for End-of-Course Tests Subject/ Year | Mean
Scores | A | B | C | D | F | Algebra I | HCS 2005 | 82.3 | 21.6% | 22.0% | 25.2% | 15.9% | 15.3% | HCS 2006 | 81.1 | 18.9% | 17.8% | 27.9% | 21.3% | 14.2% | HCS 2007 | 80.6 | 16.0% | 16.9% | 30.6 % | 22.8 % | 13.8 % | State 2005 | 79.9 | 15.8% | 18.8% | 26.5% | 18.7% | 20.3% | State 2006 | 79.6 | 17.0% | 15.1% | 26.7% | 22.5% | 18.7% | State 2007 | 79.6 | 14.5% | 16.1% | 29.0% | 23.2% | 17.2% | English I | HCS 2005 | 75.7 | 7.7% | 16.4% | 23.8% | 23.3% | 28.9% | HCS 2006 | 75.8 | 10.9% | 14.6% | 23.3% | 19.4% | 31.8% | HCS 2007 | 76.0 | 10.1% | 16.7% | 21.5% | 19.9% | 31.8% | State 2005 | 75.4 | 8.3% | 17.1% | 20.8% | 22% | 31.7% | State 2006 | 76.1 | 10.9% | 15.1% | 23.6% | 19.9% | 30.5% | State 2007 | 74.4 | 7.4% | 13.9% | 21.6% | 21.9% | 35.2% | Physical Science | HCS 2005 | 68.3 | 3.8% | 7.3% | 11.9% | 20.6% | 56.4% | HCS 2006 | 68.8 | 5.5% | 7.4% | 13.7% | 19.6% | 53.7% | HCS 2007 | 74.3 | 12.1% | 9.8% | 20.6% | 20.5% | 37.0% | State 2005 | 67.3 | 3.7% | 6.7% | 11.3% | 19% | 59.4% | State 2006 | 69.2 | 6.6% | 8.6% | 13.4% | 17.9% | 53.4% | State 2007 | 70.7 | 9.3% | 7.7% | 16.0% | 16.7% | 50.3% |
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