Policy Update: South Carolina: An Unveiling

Vital Statistics
95	Public school districts
1,047	Public schools
647,430	K-12 enrollment
43.4%	Minority students
26%	Children in poverty
11.7%	Students with disabilities
$3.4 billion	Annual K-12 expenditures (all revenue sources)

"I don't think there has been an effort like this in 10 years," says William Barnet, the former chairman of the governor-appointed commission that recommended the new standards, assessments, and incentives. "We want to go from [a ranking of] 48th or 50th in the nation to 25th or higher in 12 years. We want the greatest rate of improvement in the country."

The most important element of the law is the specificity of the academic standards, says Lorin Anderson, a South Carolina distinguished professor who researches education policy at the University of South Carolina.

The accountability law lays out the skills each child needs to master in every grade, a departure from past legislation that established only loose guidelines for competency, Anderson says.

"Teachers can now say, 'I know I should be focusing on multiplication and division,' and that's a real advantage," he says.

Under the act, the state will spend $11.5 million of the $36.2 million allocated to education reform in fiscal 1999 to upgrade the state standards and assess students at all grade levels.

Students who do not meet the standards or whose teachers say they are not performing adequately will be placed on academic probation and most likely be held back a grade.

"This is an integrated approach to the entire issue of accountability," Barnet says. "We are getting a spectrum of people involved. We don't just expect students to carry the burden themselves."

"They've got standards and tests, but I don't think they looked beyond that," says Elizabeth Gressette, the executive director of the 5,300-member Palmetto State Teachers Association, an independent organization. "I'm afraid we may not have accommodations for the kids ... who won't meet the standards."

Legislators contend they have considered that need and in turn allocated grant money for 10 alternative schools for children with discipline problems. Grants are also available for after-school homework centers.

Each year, the state school board and an oversight committee will issue every school one of five ratings--"excellent," "good," "average," "below average," or "unsatisfactory." Beginning in 2001, those ratings will be sent home to families on a report card. The report card will also list educational trends, needs, and long-term performance in the school, and include each principal's evaluation.

State officials will intercede at those schools that receive a rating of below average or unsatisfactory by offering a grant to retrain the schools' teachers and administrators.

The state also will provide financial incentives for master teachers and principal mentors who teach in districts deemed in greatest need of help. Seven of South Carolina's districts are now considered in greatest need.

Educators who commit to work in distressed districts will earn an extra $17,000 per year, money that goes toward their retirement funds. If the districts do not improve, the state may declare a state of emergency. The law does not define the state's actions at that time.

South Carolina will spend more than $20 million to shrink the average student-to-teacher ratio to 15-to-1 this school year.

The ratio last year in English/language arts and mathematics was 30-to-1, according to the state education department. The ratio in other academic subjects was 35-to-1. Physical education and music classes contained up to 40 students.

The funding allocation will begin with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade classes in the seven districts deemed distressed. Money will then be distributed to the state's other districts based on the formula for free and reduced-price lunches.

Rep. Ronald P. Townsend, the Republican who chairs the House education committee, says the primary grades are "the most critical time to help children."

State leaders hope to spur innovation through grants to pilot yearlong schooling and programs that would lengthen the school day.

The law also provides funding to pay for the Preliminary SAT for all 10th graders. Last year, students in South Carolina had the lowest scores in the nation on the SAT. "Students in neighboring states who took the [preparatory] tests boosted their scores an average of 130 points," says Karen Horne, a special assistant for policy in the education department.

Reaction to the Accountability Act of 1998 has been positive. Even those who complain about some parts of the law typically say there is much to praise.

"Since everybody has input--the school board, the administration, teachers, the community--you are going to see success," predicts Jackie B. Hicks, the president of the 20,000-member South Carolina Education Association, an affiliate of the National Education Association.

But Hicks worries that despite the state's pledge to underwrite the master plan, poorer districts won't receive the money they need under South Carolina's funding formula to ensure students can meet the new standards.

In the current fiscal year, $1.44 billion of the state's $4.58 billion budget will be spent on education. There is no projection on how much money the plan will require.

Townsend, the education committee chairman, says the legislature has no plans to look at the funding formula, which he deems "equitable."

The few opponents of the final law had hoped legislators would include a provision to allow children in failing schools to transfer to other schools. Others wanted an A-to-F rating system for schools instead of the excellent-to-unsatisfactory scale.

In other matters, the state last year completed the integration of full-day kindergarten, a program started in 1996. More than 73,000 youngsters are now attending an optional full-day kindergarten, Horne says.

The state also reformed the rules for its gifted-and-talented programs by clarifying program definitions and ensuring that screening for inclusion includes all students. Teachers of gifted classes are now required to complete graduate work on the needs of the gifted and on related curriculum development.

Students will be chosen for the program based equally on their test scores and classroom performance. Last year, test scores accounted for 90 percent of the selection criteria.