Major Strides for Beaufort County Students: Improvements in State ELA and Math Tests

Beaufort County

Beaufort County School District (BCSD) is celebrating significant progress following the latest round of statewide test scores. However, school leaders argue that there’s still room for improvement.

English Language Arts (ELA) Test Scores on the Rise

In 2024, an impressive 53.4% of students across grades 3-8 in Beaufort County schools managed to meet or even exceed the standards set for English Language Arts (ELA). This not only represents the highest score on the state assessment in the district’s history but also an improvement from the previous year, where 53% managed to meet the standards. This is a considerable increase from 2022, where only 48.1% of students met these standards.

Beaufort County School District will be implementing the early literacy professional development (LETRS) program for all K-3 educators during the 2024-25 academic year. This initiative aims to ensure every child can read by the end of third grade.

Math Test Scores

However, the numbers on the math assessment test were lower, with just 43% of students meeting or exceeding the standards. This is still a 3% increase from 2023, but lower than the 47.2% recorded in 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

School Superintendent Dr. Frank Rodriguez cited the ongoing impact of the pandemic as a significant factor affecting the students’ performance, particularly in math. He pointed out that the nationwide impact felt was about a decade’s worth, which means recovery would take several years and continue as the students progress throughout the system.

Positive Report Overall

Despite these challenges, the school system considers the report positive overall. Among some noteworthy achievements, the school district managed to:

• Show improvement across every grade level in math
• Surpass the State average scores in Math SC Ready
• Exceed the State average scores in ELA SC Ready
• Surpass the State in all EOCEPs, earning A-C ratings.
• Surpass the State in Career Readiness Math, Data, Reading, and Soft Skills assessments

The school district has set a target for the proficiency numbers to reach 75% in the next five years for both ELA and math. Although the current scores aren’t where they’d like them to be, leaders emphasize the significant progress made.

The Ambitious Road Ahead

With over 21,000 students, the BCSD has double the population of multilingual learners (23%) than the state (10%). With students hailing from families speaking over 30 different languages, the challenge is substantial. However, the progress made by several schools in the district towards meeting or exceeding the state’s stringent 75% proficiency goal in both ELA and Math is encouraging.

Schools such as Coosa Elementary School and River Ridge Academy have either met or are nearing the target for various grade levels. Furthermore, high schools like Bluffton and May River are making strides towards the state’s 75% proficiency goal for student achievement on the Math Career Readiness Assessment.

As the district continues to make strides in student achievement, the road is an ambitious one. But with continued efforts, the BCSD is hopeful to meet their proficiency goals, preparing their students for a successful future beyond graduation.