3 high schools improve scores
Last Updated on 3/19/2010
Published on 2/19/2009
By Scott Harper
sharper@gtowntimes.com
Dr. Mike Cafaro, principal of Georgetown High School, is a happy man today.
He has been waiting for three months for the state to issue the annual school report cards so the public could see the improvements made at GHS.
The reports were supposed to be released in November by the state Department of Education but were delayed because of a calculation error.
"It's nice to celebrate victories. For me, the past three months has been like sitting with an engine revving while the car was in neutral," Cafaro said. "Now we can hit the gas and move forward by congratulating everyone and thanking them for their hard work."
In both 2006 and 2007, GHS scored an average "absolute rating" -- a snapshot of how a school or district is doing by showing its performance for the past year.
This year the school received a "good" rating in that category.
But, Cafaro notes, the school received an "excellent" growth rating this year. The growth rating compares student test scores from one year to the next.
Only eight other schools in the state similar to GHS scored a "good" absolute rating. Most scored "average" or below.
"I am glad it happened but report cards change from year to year because you are dealing with different students each year," he said.
Cafaro said the 2007-08 year was the first time more than 80 percent of the test-takers passed the exit exam on their first try.
Andrews High
Andrews High also saw a better report card this year with an "average" absolute rating, up from "below average" the past two years.
The school's growth rating has also shown a big jump. Two years ago the school was "at risk." This year, the school received a "good" score in that category.
Principal Michelle Staggers said initiatives put in place to help improve achievement are working.
She said the staff is closely monitoring end of course and other testing.
"We are always implementing new strategies to help us be succesful," she said.
Carvers Bay High
Carvers Bay High received an "average" absolute rating, down from "good" the two previous years.
The school's growth rating was "below average" for the third straight year.
Ten other schools in the state with a similar student population and makeup scored an "average" absolute rating. Most were either below average or "at risk."
Waccamaw High
For the third year, WHS scored "excellent" on its absolute rating, the same as five other state schools with similar student populations.
It also scored "good" on its growth rating.
The principals of Carvers Bay and Waccamaw High Schools did not return phone calls Thursday.
District holds steady
As a whole, the district's absolute rating has not changed since 2006.
It once again scored an "average" with a "below average" growth rating for the second year.
Suprerintendent Dr. Randy Dozier noted of the 24 districts the state deemed "like ours," nine received Average grades while 15 were rated Below Average.
None rated higher than Average.
Out of 85 districts in South Carolina, only one rated Excellent and five Good. Thirty-five were rated Below Average and 12 rated At-Risk.
The biggest areas of concern for the district are in the middle schools. Three middle schools -- Carvers Bay, Georgetown and Rosemary -- were given "below average" absolute ratings.
Two of those schools -- Carvers Bay and Georgetown -- are "at risk" in growth rating.
An "at risk" school's performance fails to meet the standards for progress toward the 2010 SC Performance Goal. That goal is for South Carolina to be rated in the top half of the state's nationally in two years.
Waccamaw Middle School received an "average" absolute rating but, for the third year the school is labled as "at risk" in the area of growth.
On the elementary level, Waccamaw scored a "good" absolute rating. Andrews, Kensington, Maryville, Pleasant Hill and Sampit scored "average. Plantersville, Browns Ferry and McDonald scored "below average."
"We are proud of our growth, but we continue to strive to make gains in all of the areas on our report cards," said Dr. C.A. Pringle, assistant superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction.
