Local Students Show Improvement on State Testing, Work Continues to Reduce Disparities
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Education released 2023 SC READY summative assessment data on Sept. 5 showing continued growth among Spartanburg County students, but significant work remains in eliminating disparities.
These assessments were administered at the end of last school year to elementary and middle school students. While standardized test data is only one measure of student success and school achievement, the release of this data offers an opportunity to celebrate improvements and recognize challenges that our students are facing, specifically in grades 3-8 for English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics (Math).
The Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) has reported academic achievement data for Spartanburg County since its inception a decade ago. Focused on key outcomes along a cradle-to-career continuum, SAM reports data annually to encourage the community to participate in transforming systems to achieve a shared vision to advance economic mobility, anchored in academic achievement. When SAM releases education data, the emphasis is on data being used “as a flashlight and not a hammer” especially given the number of factors that impact student achievement data, many that exist outside of the school buildings.
“As a former superintendent, I recognize that summative test data does not fully explain student achievement nor evaluate everything that is going on within our schools,” said SAM Chief Executive Officer Dr. Russell W. Booker, who is also a former superintendent. “It does, however, help us understand a little more about where our students are, identify and share bright spots of improvement, and broaden our attention to disparities that exist. This year’s release sheds additional light on the disparities that persist by race, socio-economic background, and gender. To truly realize our vision to advance economic mobility, these achievement indicators should be embraced and supported by not just our schools and parents, but our entire community. We are looking forward to launching our community’s Movement 2030 efforts to accelerate progress and close equity gaps.”
English Language Arts (ELA):
Spartanburg County elementary schools (grades 3-5) collectively achieved 55.4 percent of students proficient in ELA standards closely aligned with a statewide average of 55.2 percent. This represents an increase of almost 5 percentage points from 2022 for the 43 Spartanburg County elementary schools. Every grade at the elementary level (grades 3-5) showed an increase in proficiency for the second consecutive year following declines amid the pandemic from 2019 and 2021 (there was no testing in 2020). ELA proficiency rates for grades 3-5 combined have remained higher than pre-pandemic levels for both 2022 and 2023.
SAM is particularly interested in third grade reading proficiency as a core indicator in the cradle- to- career continuum. Third grade reading proficiency has received increased attention over the last several years both statewide and nationally due to the critical importance of foundational learning in predicting future outcomes for students. Across Spartanburg County, 51.9 percent of third graders were proficient in ELA standards for 2023, a slight increase from 49.4 percent in 2022 and slightly below the state average of 53.4 percent this year. However, more than half of Spartanburg’s elementary schools were higher than the state average.
Since 2017 SAM has supported Spartanburg’s elementary schools with the four highest poverty ratings with trainings and coaching in the effective use of continuous improvement science to achieve double digit increases in third grade ELA outcomes for students that have historically fallen behind their peers. These four schools began experiencing success in these efforts before the pandemic and experienced a smaller decline than many other schools post-pandemic. Since then, third grade ELA achievement has continued to climb and this year, these four schools collectively achieved 33.3 percent proficiency (up from 14.7 percent in 2017) for third grade ELA standards.
While we continue to see growth in ELA outcomes and promising results from focused efforts on school- wide continuous improvements in areas of concentrated poverty, significant disparities still exist and will require additional efforts close persistent achievement gaps. Each subgroup of students experienced increases again this year, except for black or African American students who experienced a decline of less than 1 percentage point; however, the difference between comparable subgroups has not changed. For 2023, there is a disparity between white students and black or African American students and Hispanic students (36 and 41 percentage point differences respectively). There is also a persistent achievement gap between male and female students. Both males and females achieved the same rate of improvement from 2022 to 2023 (about 3 percentage points) but have not gotten closer to closing the gap that exists between the two groups of students.
“A closer look at achievement data by different subgroups uncovers the challenges that sometimes gets overlooked,” explained SAM Chief Impact Officer Beth Thompson. “When groups of students are not performing at the same level as their peers, it is imperative that we ask why. In every case, these striking disparities are not new, and it is vitally important that we continue to disaggregate data so that our community’s efforts are accelerated for these groups of students specifically.”
MATH:
Spartanburg County grades 6-8 experienced a very slight increase in math proficiency from 2022 35.9 percent to 36.2 percent in 2023 and right above the state average of 33.0%. Unlike ELA, however, math proficiency rates have not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels -- a challenge faced across the state, the state data shows. Since the inception of the SC READY assessment in 2016, Spartanburg County’s highest math proficiency for grades 6-8 combined was 41% in 2018. For grades 6-8, 8th grade was the only grade to experience a slight increase of a little more than 1 percentage point from 33.5% to 34.9% from 2022 to 2023.
Like its focus on third grade ELA, SAM also maintains a specific focus on 8th grade math outcomes as another core component of the cradle-to-career continuum. Eighth grade math is the only middle school grade that had an increase this year (34.9 percent) and remains slightly above the state average of 31.6 percent. And while there is some movement upward, math proficiency will require additional support and focus on continuous improvement. SAM will be joining community-based teams from across the country in October to further analyze and discuss challenges in math achievement and opportunities for improvement.
For 8th grade math, much like third grade ELA, disparities exist among students by various subgroups. While most subgroups have experienced the same gradual increases post-pandemic, many remain significantly behind their peers. When evaluating eighth grade math by race, white students achieved proficiency 20 percentage points higher than Hispanic students and 2.5 times greater than Black or African American students. Students identified as being in poverty achieved proficiency at a rate of 2.5 times lower than their peers who were not in poverty (but made-up 65 percent of the students tested in eighth grade math). Unlike in 3rd grade ELA, results were similar based on gender.
SAM will continue thoughtful analysis of this year’s assessment results and provide additional updates over the course of the next month.
For more information about this year’s results for Spartanburg County schools, please contact Thompson at bthompson@learnwithsam.org.