Report Card

COUNTY — The School District of Pickens County received a score of Excellent, the highest possible rating, on the 2014 South Carolina School Report Card.

The district also received a growth rating of Good.

“It takes a team effort between staff, administrators, students and families to earn this rating, and we have a great team here in Pickens County,” superintendent Dr. Danny Merck said.

The South Carolina School Report card recognizes five ratings: Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average and At-Risk.

]Every school in the district was Average or above on the report card’s absolute rating, although results on the growth rating ranged from Excellent to At-Risk.

The absolute rating measures overall proficiency of students at the school, while the growth rating measures student improvement from the previous year.

On the absolute rating, 12 schools were rated Excellent, six were Good, and eight were Average. On the growth rating, four were Excellent, 10 were Good, seven were Average, two were Below Average, and three were At-Risk.

“As a district, we are pleased to receive an absolute rating of Excellent and to see our growth rating improve as well,” assistant superintendent of instructional services Sharon Huff said. “Some of our individual schools saw variations in their ratings from previous years. Our principals and their leadership teams are looking at ways to sustain the positive trends and improve any areas that declined.

“We know that when looking at school ratings, we have to examine the data carefully to use it to help us stay on the path of continuous improvement. I am very proud of our students, teachers, and administrators. They all play an important role in the success of Pickens County.”