SC Math, Reading Scores Lag Nation, Change Little

South Carolina students’ national reading and math test scores haven’t changed much since 2009, according to the Nation’s Report Card for 2011, released Tuesday, and still fall short of national averages.

 The National Assessment of Education Progress, released by the U.S. Department of Education, fourth- and eighth-graders on the two core subjects, and are the only nationwide standardized tests, which allows state-to-state comparison.

 For fourth and eighth grade respectively, South Carolina students ranked 38th and 39th in reading, and 37th and 34th in math. The state’s averages for each subject and grade were two to five points below the national average, with minimal change in the past two years. Between 60 and 80 percent of South Carolina student tested performed at their grade level.

 State Education Superintendent Mick Zais said in a statement that the education department’s biggest concern is improving reading instruction, particularly before students enter fourth grade.

 Education department spokesman Jay W. Ragley said that if students are not reading on grade level by that grade they are six times less likely to graduate high school. He said the department is trying to change regulations so that school districts can have flexibility to design school schedules around their pupils’ specific needs.

 “With more flexibility, we'd allow districts to look at the problems that are unique to their schools and say ‘we have a problem in reading, we've got to devote more time to reading, how are we going to accomplish that?’” Ragley said. “By giving them flexibility to schedule their school calendar or even their school day a little bit differently, we think we can get some big results in reading."

 He said since districts know their students’ strengths and weaknesses best, they are at an advantage to decide how many minutes in each school day should be devoted to each subject, and even structure the day differently for different students.

 “If you’re going to hold districts accountable for their results, you’re going to have to give them the autonomy or the flexibility to change the outcomes,” Ragley said. “Let them be creative, let them be innovative to find ways to meet the needs of their students and at the end of the day say here where the bar is for our expectations in reading and mathematics, which are the two foundational subjects of education.”

 He said that though added reading instruction may come at the cost of other subjects, it is too imperative to success throughout a child’s education career to ignore. In addition to redistributing time, districts give struggling students more classroom instruction in place of gym, arts or other elective subjects.

 Flexibility could also come in the form of allowing schools to group classes by achievement level so teachers can help children with similar skill sets, instead of juggling multiple sets of instruction for a class of 30 students with widely varied comprehension. Ragley said letting teachers focus on relatively similarly achieving students has worked well in the state’s public charter and Montessori schools.

 South Carolina Education Association President Jackie Hicks said that many schools are already moving students from class to class based on what they’ve accomplished and that teachers work hard on lesson plans that can accommodate every child. She said it’s also essential that, regardless of a district’s general achievement, individual students who’ve mastered on level should advance to the next.

 But she does like the idea that improvements could come from a level closer to the actual classroom.

 “If you give that power to the districts you really need to have teachers and parents come in and say what they think solutions are, especially if are going to change something they’ve been accustomed to for year,” Hicks said. “Plus they really know best what their kids need.”

 Ragley also said that the state “has not done an excellent job of delivering [professional] development in a manner that is useful for teachers,” and that Zais is considering changing professional enrichment requirements from a number of days to a number of hours each year. The concept is to allow continuing education throughout the year, using online resources and shorter seminars, so that training is more relevant and timely.

 Though districts have different requirements, the state currently gives teachers 10 days each school year for professional development.

 Zais and a State Board of Education committee are researching district flexibility now. Ragley said the board is expected to vote on a plan some time early next year and that Zais aims to get statue changed by the general assembly during its next session, which starts in January. That means districts could be designing their own daily schedules as soon as next school year.