The ACT and SAT include four curriculum-based tests that measure students' educational development in English, mathematics, reading and science reasoning. Most colleges accept the ACT for admission.
South Carolina laws passed in 2014 established that a college and career readiness assessment for 11th grade students will be required. The ACT and SAT are the college readiness assessments for SC. Beginning with the 17-18 school year, students can choose in their third year in high school whether they want to take the ACT or the SAT.
ACCUPLACER is the test that will be replacing ACT COMPASS beginning with the 2016-17 school year. ACCUPLACER is a suite of computerized tests that determines your knowledge in math, reading and writing as you prepare to enroll in college-level courses. ACCUPLACER is an interactive online learning tool that is computer-adaptive. It is a college placement test that allows post-secondary educators to evaluate incoming students' skill levels and college-readiness. The results of the test can be used to place students in appropriate courses and connect students to the resources they need to achieve academic success. Eleventh grade students in SDPC take this test to help them identify areas of strengths and weakness as they prepare to select courses for their final year of high school.
Ready To Work is an e-learning career and college ready curriculum and career readiness assessments preparing learners to be career and college ready in both academic and soft skills. The Ready to Work assessment is a workforce education and development tool, comprised of three proctored assessments, Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information, and Locating Information, leading to a work ready credential. It brings employers, learners/job-seekers, and education/workforce partners together in building a skilled workforce, while keeping and attracting businesses with higher-wage jobs and national economic growth. This test is aligned to the WorkKeys job skills assessment. The WIN Essential Soft Skills assessment is composed of questions measuring entry-level work tasks and behaviors, including cooperate with others, resolve conflict and negotiate, solve problems and make decisions, observe critically and take responsibility for learning.
SC READY is the assessment for English and Math in grades 3-8. The South Carolina College-and Career-Ready Assessments (SC READY) are statewide assessment in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics that will meet all of the requirements of Acts 155 and 200, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), and the Assessments Peer Review Guidance. All student in grades 3-8 are required to take the SC READY except those who qualify for the South Carolina National Center and State Collaborative (SC-NCSC). SC READY Assessments are not timed. Beginning with the 2016-17 school year SC READY will be administered online. SC READY is aligned to our State's College and Career Readiness Standards, and the assessments are focused on college and career readiness. Scores reflect the knowledge and skills students develop over time—across grades—and link these results to readiness for college and career, providing an evolving picture of student growth. SC READY results will be used for federal accountability under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). This test must be administered during the last twenty school days.
The Advanced Placement (AP) program offers students the opportunity to pursue college-level studies while still in high school and to receive advanced placement credit, college credit, or both based on their performance on rigorous AP examinations. Different colleges have different policies concerning accepting AP credit. Students should check with the colleges of their choice for their requirements. An additional 1.0 weighting is given to Advanced Placement courses.
CASE TE-21 is a benchmark assessment given using the Mastery Connect platform. These assessments are used to help teachers monitor students' progress throughout the year. After our students take the quizzes or tests, the schools receive feedback on students’ readiness for state testing. The questions on these assessments are formatted and designed to mirror our state tests. Using these diagnostic reports, teachers can identify individual student needs and plan intervention strategies. Teachers will use these assessments throughout the school year.
End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) - The Education Accountability Act of 1998 requires that end-of-course examinations in gateway or benchmark courses be given for grades 9 through 12. These examinations (which will count 20% of the student's grade in the gateway or benchmark course) include Algebra 1/Intermediate Algebra, English 2 (implementation year and will not count 20% of the final grade), (Only certain students will be required to take the English 1 EOCEP), U.S. History and Constitution, Biology/Applied Biology. Students in Intermediate Algebra will take the test; students in Foundations in Algebra will not. EOCEP results are used for federal accountability under the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA). Except for the writing portion, this test must be administered during the last fifteen school days. During the 2019-2020 school year, some students will participate in an implementation test of the English 2 End of Course Examination. English 2 EOCEP will be administered to all students enrolled in a course in which the English 2 standards are taught beginning in the fall of 2019.
ACCESS for ELLs (Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English language Learners) is a secure large-scale English language proficiency assessment given to Kindergarten through 12th graders who have been identified as English Language Learners (ELLs). ACCESS results will also be used for federal accountability under the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA).
The WIDA ACCESS Placement Test is the screener used to identify students who may be candidates for English as a Second Language (ESL). It is an adaptive test that determines students' proficiency up to and beyond level 5 of WIDA English language Proficiency (ELP) levels. It is given to incoming students who may be designated as English learners. It assists educators with programmatic placement decisions such as identification and placement of ELLs. The test assesses the four language domains of listening, speaking, reading and writing. It is individually administered and adaptive meaning that part of the test may be discontinued as soon as the student reaches his or her "performance ceiling."
Identification of Gifted and Talented Students - An aptitude test and an achievement test are given to second graders in the fall of the school year. Students must score 93rd percentile or higher on the aptitude test and 94th percentile or higher on the achievement test in either reading or mathematics in order to be identified as gifted.
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) - SDPC uses an interim assessment called MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) in grades K through 8. MAP is a computerized adaptive test developed by NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association). MAP measures students' academic growth from year to year in the areas of mathematics, reading, and language usage. When students take a MAP assessment, the difficulty of the test is adjusted to the student's performance. If a student answers correctly, the questions become more difficult. If a student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier. Students take 48-52 questions, answering approximately half of the items correctly and half incorrectly. The final score is an estimate of the student's instructional level. The advantage of this testing process is that teachers and students receive immediate feedback; teachers can then personalize instruction based on the student's needs.
The assessments are aligned with the South Carolina curriculum for each subject, giving specific information about the major goal categories. For example, in "Mathematics," the goal categories are "Algebra," "Data Analysis & Probability," "Geometry," "Measurement," and "Number & Operations." MAP assessment reports provide information for each goal category in each subject for each student. This increases the value of the assessments as a tool for improving student learning because it enables teachers to recognize areas where the student needs help.
South Carolina Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (SCPASS) is the statewide assessment administered to South Carolina students in grades 4 through 8 for Science and Social Studies. The Social Studies test will no longer be given to grades 5 and 7. All students in grades 4 and 6 are required to take SCPASS Science except those who qualify for NCSC Alternate Assessment. SCPASS only includes tests in science for grades 4 and 6. Aligned to the South Carolina Academic Standards for Science, SCPASS test items assess the content knowledge and skills described in the standards and indicators. SCPASS results will also be used for federal accountability under the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA).
The PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) is a multiple-choice test that measures critical reading, verbal reasoning, math problem solving and writing skills important for academic performance in college.
The SAT Reasoning Test (formerly SAT I: Reasoning Test), better known as the SAT, is a three-hour and forty-five-minute test that measures critical reading, writing, and mathematical reasoning skills that students have developed over time and skills that they need to be successful academically in college.
SAT Subject Tests (formerly SAT II: Subject Tests) are designed to measure students' knowledge and skills in particular subject areas as well as their ability to apply that knowledge. Students take the SAT Subject Tests to demonstrate to colleges their mastery of specific subjects such as English, history, mathematics, science, and language.
NCSC Alternate Assessment – National Center and State Collaborative Alternate Assessment is an alternate assessment on alternative achievement standards for ELA and mathematics that are aligned to our State Standards. This alternative assessment is for students with significant cognitive disabilities who are assessed by alternative achievement standards as they are unable to participate in the general assessment program with accommodations. The SC NCSC alternate assessment is grade-level specific assessment that is computer-delivered to students in grades 3-8 and 11. This test is no longer age dependent.