A new state standardized test given to students in grades 3-8 last spring showed mixed results in Georgetown County.

Results of the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards, or PASS test, were released Thursday and showed more  students met their Adequate Yearly Progress or AYP goals with PASS than with the defunct Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT).

The PASS test, covering math, English language arts, writing, science and social studies, has replaced PACT.

The data detailing the results of the testing fills several dozen pages but local school officials say the bottom line is since the PASS test is different from PACT, the results cannot be compared with past test results.

The wording for the PASS test is different than on PACT which rated groups of students as “below basic,” “basic,” “proficient” or “advanced.”

PASS uses the categories “not met,” “met” or “exceeds.”

The percentage of students who achieved “met” or “exceeds,” determines whether schools meet their Annual Yearly Progress goal under federal guidelines.

The problem areas Georgetown County were in English and math where every grade level —  except 6th graders — had a lower percentage of students passing.

The news was encouraging for 6th graders  who saw their scores increase in all subjects.

Both 6th and 7th graders also saw improvements in science while students in fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth grade saw better scores in social studies.

Result extremes

In grade-by-grade results, the district as a whole scored best in 5th grade Language Arts where 81 percent of the 744 test-takers passed.

The weakest area is 8th grade science where only 52.3 percent of those tested passed.

• Andrews Elementary: The highest scoring group and subject were 4th grade math where 86.2 percent passed.

In 4th grade science, 60.2 percent passed.

• Browns Ferry Elementary: The strongest area was 5th grade Social Studies where the passage rate was 80 percent. Only 26.7 percent of the 3rd graders passed their science portion of the test.

• Carvers Bay Middle School: 8th grade Social Studies was the highest score by the students as 72.2 percent passed.

The weakest area was 8th grade math where only 51.4 percent passed.

• Georgetown Middle School: The highest area was in 7th grade Science where 74.6 percent passed.

In 8th grade Science, only 43.1 percent passed.

• Kensington Elementary: The highest score was in 5th grade Language Arts where 80.4 percent passed.

In 4th grade Science only 57.5 percent passed.

• Maryville Elementary: There was a tie for the highest passing percentage. In both 5th grade Language Arts and 5th grade math, 81.7 percent passed.

In 3rd grade Science, only 53.5 percent passed.

• McDonald Elementary: The highest passing rate was 5th grade Language Arts where 70.7 percent passed.

In 5th grade Science only 40.5 percent passed.

• Plantersville Elementary: In 4th grade Language Arts and 4th grade Social Studies, 88.9 percent passed.

In 3rd grade Social Studies, only 20 percent passed.

• Pleasant Hill Elementary: In 4th grade math, 87.8 percent passed while only 56.4 percent of 4th graders passed Writing.

• Sampit Elementary: In 5th grade writing, 88.1 percent passed.

In both 3rd grade writing and 3rd grade science, only 56.3 percent passed.

• Rosemary Middle: In 8th grade Social Studies 77.4 percent passed. In 8th grade Science only 39.8 percent.

• Waccamaw Elementary: The only grade level to take the test at WES was 3rd because the other grade levels are at Waccamaw Intermediate School. The highest passing percentage was in Social Studies where 90.1 percent passed. In Science only 75.8 percent passed.

• Waccamaw Intermediate School: In 5th grade Language Arts, 93.9 percent passed.

In 6th grade Science, 80 percent passed.

• Waccamaw Middle School: In 7th grade math, 86.4 percent passed while only 64.3 percent of 8th graders passed the math portion of the test.

Complete results can be found online at http://ed.sc.gov/topics/assessment/scores/pass/2009/

District reaction

Dr. Randy Dozier, district superintendent, said more will be known about how students are adapting to the new tests in upcoming years.

“Any time you have implementation of a new testing system, like PASS, it will take several test cycles - years - to fully understand the expectations and demands of the test and also how the test is scored,” he said. “I clearly expect as we become more accustomed to PASS that we will show marked progress.”

Patti Hammel, executive director for student performance, said this year’s results are the baseline that will be used starting next year.

“The results on this assessment give us more detailed information, but there are no definite comparisons to be made to the previous PACT results,” she said.

She said she is concerned things may not get better because of the money problems in the district and state.

“Budget cuts and reductions will make it extremely difficult to show the required progress as mandated by the state and federal government. The loss of additional teachers and programs are reflected in our inability to make the required progress -- even this year -- in some areas.”

By Scott Harper

sharper@gtowntimes.com