NOTES ABOUT THE 1999 FINDINGS: SOUTH CAROLINA
These pages present highlights for your state from the 1999 National Education Goals Report and the companion 1999 Data Volume. The annual Goals Report uses 27 national and 34 state-level indicators to measure progress made toward the eight National Education Goals since 1990, when the Goals were established.
This fact sheet summarizes your state’s progress in key educational areas during the 1990s. Please note the following points:
Goal 3: Student Achievement and Citizenship
Goal 1: Ready to Learn
Goal 2: School Completion
Goal 3: Student Achievement and Citizenship
Goal 5: Mathematics and Science
7. Types of information presented: Four categories of information are provided for your state:
a. Highest-Performing States are states that have performed well in comparison to others. This does not mean that the Goals Panel considers performance in these states to be as high as it should be in order to meet the Goal. It is simply a means of recognizing those states that are doing particularly well relative to others, and that are closest to achieving the Goal by this measure of progress.
b. Most-Improved States are those that made the greatest improvements over time. These states may not yet be among the highest-performing states in the nation, but they were the most successful at pushing their performance in the right direction. "Most-improved" does not necessarily mean that the Goals Panel considers the amount of progress made to be sufficient. It is simply a means of recognizing those states that have made the greatest progress toward the Goal by this measure.
c. Areas of Improvement lists each area in which your state’s performance has improved, compared to where it stood at the beginning of the decade.
d. Areas of Decline lists each area in which your state’s performance has declined, compared to where it stood at the beginning of the decade.
Copies of both reports are available on the Goals Panel’s Web site, at www.negp.gov
SOUTH CAROLINA – Data Highlights
1999 National Education Goals Report
I. HIGHEST-PERFORMING
South Carolina placed among the highest-performing states in the nation on 1 measure of progress during the 1990s:
Goal 7: Safe, Disciplined, and Alcohol- and Drug-free Schools
1. the percentage of public high school students reporting that they were in a physical fight on school property (13%).
II. MOST-IMPROVED
South Carolina placed among the most-improved states in the nation on 6 measures of progress during the 1990s:
Goal 1: Ready to Learn
1. increasing the percentage of mothers who received early prenatal care;
Goal 2: School Completion
2. increasing the high school completion rate among 18- to 24-year-olds;
Goal 6: Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning
3. increasing the percentage of U.S. citizens who reported that they registered to vote;
4. increasing the percentage of U.S. citizens who reported that they voted;
5. increasing the percentage of high school graduates who immediately enroll in college; and
Goal 7: Safe, Disciplined, and Alcohol- and Drug-free Schools
6. reducing the percentage of public high school students who reported that they carried a weapon on school property.
III. AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
South Carolina improved on 13 measures of progress toward the Goals during the 1990s:
Goal 1: Ready to Learn
1. South Carolina reduced the percentage of infants born with one or more of four health risks (from 43% in 1990, to 38% in 1997).
2. South Carolina increased the percentage of mothers who received early prenatal care (from 69% in 1990, to 80% in 1997).
3. South Carolina increased the number of children with disabilities enrolled in preschool (from 52 per 1,000 3- to 5-year-olds in 1991, to 69 per 1,000 3- to 5-year-olds in 1998).
Goal 2: School Completion
4. South Carolina increased the percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds who have a high school credential (from 83% in 1990, to 88% in 1997).
Goal 3: Student Achievement and Citizenship
5. South Carolina increased the numbers of Advanced Placement examinations receiving grades high enough to qualify students for college credit. (The number of AP exams receiving a grade of 3 or higher increased from 69 per 1,000 11th and 12th graders in 1991, to 100 per 1,000 11th and 12th graders in 1999.)
Goal 4: Teacher Education and Professional Development
6. South Carolina increased the percentage of public school teachers who received support from a master or mentor teacher during their first year of teaching (from 24% in 1991, to 29% in 1994).
Goal 5: Mathematics and Science
7. South Carolina increased the proportion of degrees earned by all students that were awarded in mathematics and science (from 37% in 1991, to 42% in 1996).
8. South Carolina increased the proportion of degrees earned by minority students that were awarded in mathematics and science (from 36% in 1991, to 38% in 1996).
9. South Carolina increased the proportion of degrees earned by female students that were awarded in mathematics and science (from 34% in 1991, to 39% in 1996).
Goal 6: Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning
10. South Carolina increased the percentage of U.S. citizens who reported that they registered to vote (from 61% in 1988, to 68% in 1996).
11. South Carolina increased the percentage of U.S. citizens who reported that they voted (from 50% in 1988, to 55% in 1996).
12. South Carolina increased the percentage of high school graduates who immediately enrolled in college in any state (from 43% in 1992, to 59% in 1996).
Goal 7: Safe, Disciplined, and Alcohol- and Drug-free Schools
13. South Carolina reduced the percentages of public high school students reporting that they carried a weapon on school property (from 14% in 1993, to 10% in 1997).
IV. AREAS OF DECLINE
There are 3 measures of progress where South Carolina’s performance has declined during the 1990s:
Goal 4: Teacher Education and Professional Development
Goal 7: Safe, Disciplined, and Alcohol- and Drug-free Schools
2. The percentage of public high school students who reported using marijuana increased from 12% in 1991, to 27% in 1997.
3. The percentage of public secondary school teachers who reported that student disruptions interfered with their teaching increased from 37% in 1991, to 49% in 1994.
This information may be viewed on-line: www.negp.gov/issues/publication/99statefact/sc.htm