By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal

goliver@upstatetoday.com

COUNTY — Scores from spring 2016 assessments for end-of-course tests and South Carolina College and Career Ready Assessments have been released by the state, and officials in Pickens County say there are positives and negatives.

The end-of-course tests, which cover algebra 1/mathematics for the technologies 2, biology 1/applied biology 2, English 1 and U.S. history and the Constitution, are based on South Carolina’s College and Career Ready Standards.

In Pickens County, the district exceeded the state with an average score of 82.1 compared to the state’s 81.9. The district surpassed the state in English I, 82.9 vs. 79.8; biology, 82.8 vs. 81.6; but its 76.9 average score in history was below the state’s 77.2.

As far as the percentage of students passing, the district was above the state in English 1, 85.5 percent compared to 78.6 percent and biology, 77 vs. 75.7. However, students in the district were below the passing percentage in algebra, 81.5 vs. the state’s 81.9; and U.S. history, 70.8 compared to 71 for students statewide.

“The gains we made in English are something to be proud of and I hope we can continue building on that going forward,” Pickens County school superintendent Danny Merck said. “In the other subjects, statewide progress has been gradually closing the gap with Pickens County for several years. It’s very important for us to continue to improve so that our students have a competitive advantage after graduation.”