Beaufort, state schools flunk annual performance test

The Beaufort County School District inched closer this year to federally mandated achievement goals, but after falling short for the sixth consecutive year, it still faces "corrective action."

The school district met 23 of its 33 Adequate Yearly Progress goals, according to figures released Wednesday by the South Carolina Department of Education. It reached 22 of 33 goals in 2007.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, which requires schools to reach 100 percent of their goals, the school district is classified as needing corrective action -- the most serious designation for a district -- and faces federal sanctions.

It hardly is alone.

None of the state's 85 school districts met AYP goals, the education department said. Beaufort County's 69.7 percent success rate ranks 3 percentage points below the state average.

The department released data for elementary and middle schools two weeks ago, however high school data was delayed because of computational errors.

Nearly all of the nation's schools will eventually face federal sanctions if the law isn't revised because they will not be able to reach 100 percent proficiency by 2014, according to Jim Rex, state superintendent of education.

Beaufort County School District superintendent Valerie Truesdale said this means the standard for proficiency in South Carolina might be unrealistic.

"How can we visualize success if no district for two years has achieved it?" Truesdale said. "It loses meaning if no one reaches it."

No Child Left Behind allows states to set their own targets for academic proficiency. Independent studies have found thatSouth Carolina's standardsare among the highest in the nation.

More districts could make AYP goals next year when the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test, or PACT, is replaced with a new end-of-the-year accountability test.

Although the bar for proficiency has not yet been set, the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards, or PASS, aims to align South Carolina's student-performance targets with other states.

PACT scores are only one of several indicators of AYP. Elementary school ratings are based also on attendance, and high school ratings are based on graduation rates and scores on the High School Assessment Program, an exit examination that South Carolina students must pass in order to graduate.

To achieve AYP, schools are required to breakout test scores based on sub-groups, and every sub-group must meet federal standards. The number of sub-groups depends upon the district's demographics and include race, disability, English proficiency and socioeconomic status.

At all four of the district's high schools, black students and students from low-income backgrounds did not meet AYP in English. At Battery Creek and Bluffton high schools, black students and those from low-income families did not meet AYP in math.

Students with limited English proficiency at Bluffton High School did not meet AYP in English or math. Hispanic students at Hilton Head High School did not meet AYP in English.

At Battery Creek and Bluffton high schools, the graduation rate was not high enough to meet federal standards.

"Beaufort County high schools have hovered around a 70-percent graduation rate for years, which is not acceptable," Truesdale said. " ... We can not settle for 70 percent."

Truesdale said the district already is acting to improve performance.

The school district was forced to make other changes this year as a result of its corrective-action designation. Beaufort County chose from a list of possible sanctions andwillimplement the following:

•Use 10 percent of its Title 1 federal funds, or about $480,000, for professional development. Title 1 funds are given to schools with a high percentage of students from low-income backgrounds.

•Expand the curriculum to improve math and science education and teach a program called "everyday math" in elementary schools.

•Add time to the school year for low-performing students.

This year, the district added 20 extra school days for students who tested below basic levels. The first group of extended learning days is scheduled for the last week of October.