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Beaufort County's 2008 scores on the High School Assessment Program exam ranked 51st out of the 85 school districts in the state. That's an improvement from 2007, when Beaufort County ranked 61st.
"I can't tell you how happy we are," said Mary Seamon, chief instructional services officer for the district. "We are seeing the hard work of our administrators and teachers and students. To be gaining like we are, moving up 10 spots in where we are in respect to everyone else, it's very gratifying for our high schools."
Overall, 75.8 percent of Beaufort County students passed the HSAP exam on their first try this year, compared to 70.4 percent in 2007.
Statewide, 80.8 percent of students passed, which is the highest number to date.
Public high school students in South Carolina must pass the reading and math sections of the High School Assessment Program exam to graduate. The test breaks scores into four achievement levels, and students must score at Level 2 or higher to pass.
Students take the exam in their sophomore year, and first-attempt scores factor into federal achievement ratings mandated by the No Child Left Behind law. To meet federal standards of proficiency, students must score at Level 3 or 4.
Students who do not pass the tests in their sophomore year can re-take them up to four times.
Students at Hilton Head High School outperformed the state -- 81.8 percent of students passed both portions of the exam. The district's other three high schools performed below the state average.
The district's math scores improved by about 8 percent compared to last year. The state average also shows improvement in math.
"Mathematics is an area that we in Beaufort have struggled with in recent years, and we've put a tremendous emphasis on that and science," superintendent Valerie Truesdale
said. "Math scores are showing a movement because of teachers rolling up their sleeves and saying, 'Whatever it takes to teach the kid is what we'll do.' "
But reading scores in Beaufort County decreased by 1.9 percent. State reading scores also fell.
Seamon said that a slight statewide drop in reading scores might indicate the test was more difficult this year. Truesdale said the district has not yet conducted an analysis to determine where scores dropped, or why.
Robert Anderson, principal of Bluffton High School, said he's pleased to see that the schools' efforts pushed up scores but will continue helping students who need it.
"You'll always want them to go up more," he said.
Anderson said teachers at Bluffton High School are reaching out to students with limited English proficiency.
Hilton Head High School boasts the highest HSAP scores in the district.
Principal Amanda O'Nan said she's pleased with the scores and attributes much of the schosuccess to reaching out to students who typically don't perform well on standardized tests.
She said the high school administers a diagnostic test to all freshmen and places students not performing at grade level in sheltered classes that are smaller and taught by a teacher trained to reach students who are behind.
She said the school also has made efforts to increase staff members' awareness of different cultures in the county.
