SC students achieve moderate gains on ACT
Oct. 18—PICKENS COUNTY — The ACT has released 2022 assessment data for South Carolina high school students who took the ACT test. South Carolina public school students saw a moderate increase in the average composite score, from 18.3 in 2021 to 18.5 in 2022. The national average ACT Composite score for the high school class of 2022 was 19.8, the lowest average score in more than three decades, according to data released today by ACT, the nonprofit organization that administers the college readiness exam.
The ACT report represents 18,800 South Carolina public school students who took the ACT test, which is not required but is paid for by the state. Students were able to test either during a designated school day or on a Saturday national test date.
"The moderate gains we see with the ACT are consistent with other assessment results we have seen this year," said State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman. "We are encouraged by growth but know there's more work to be done. Our focus is on continued growth and bridging the achievement gaps, so that moderate gains can become sustained and significant progress for South Carolina students."
In South Carolina and in the nation, taking the proper coursework in high school dramatically increases a student's likelihood of success on the ACT. Retesting is also likely to increase scores, ACT reports. The average score for single-tested students is 17.6 for public school students, while the average score for retested students is 22.4 (public).
Additional Trends and Observations
The total number of scores sent to colleges by 2022 South Carolina graduates at the time of their most recent test was 25,108.
The top planned education majors include health sciences, business, biological & physical sciences, and engineering.
As part of South Carolina statewide testing in spring 2022, 14,652 juniors tested, an increase of over 1,300 students from spring 2021.
ACT and other assessment data can be found online at www.ed.sc.gov/data/test-scores/.
Report Card for SDPC
Additionally, the South Carolina Department of Education released its 2021-2022 School Report cards, showing every school in the School District of Pickens County scoring "Average" or better ratings.
The report card assigns ratings of Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average, and Unsatisfactory. Of the 22 SDPC schools measured, four were rated Excellent, 10 were rated Good, and eight were rated Average.
The SC Department of Education defines an Average rating as: "school performance meets the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of the SC Graduate." Excellent and Good ratings indicate that schools exceed the criteria.
"SC School Report Cards provide tremendous feedback to us in several different areas.," said Dr. Danny Merck, SDPC Superintendent. "We have always maintained a long run approach instead of reacting to one quarter, one semester or one year of data. However, we acknowledge so many areas of positive academic performance with achievement and growth. Along with the areas of positive gains, we accept the challenge of improving as well. We remain extremely grateful for the tremendous work in each of our schools. We are committed to a teachable attitude and continuous improvement no matter what."
"These report card results give us very specific feedback about our areas of strength and weakness," said Sharon Sharkey, Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services. "As a district, we are moving in a direction of creating a framework for all schools and students in SDPC through Response to Intervention (RTI). Over the next five years, we will incrementally create alignment for our students with a clear path for monitoring individual students' growth to better prepare our students for the future."
