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Can someone provide a reference for this statement? We're moving to the area and I've been reading the threads and one person said that SC schools were "last".
It's my understanding that the state we're moving from (Va) isn't all that great either but I have no source to refer to.
We are still thrilled to come but I would definitely like some sort of way to compare schools, etc. I have a 3 y/o so I'm fairly new at looking at schools.
I don't think we are last in the country but we have been ranked near last in many of the ranking profiles that have been published. Greenville and Spartanburg does have some top performing schools however so don't let that "last" mislead you.
I can't think specifically of any profiles but you might try newsweek as I believe it was one source of this type of info. Maybe others will have something more specific.
There are parts of the state that are very very bad off. But the upstate is like any other area that has jobs and money.
You may want to check out this documentary
It is - more about the rural schools - the "corridor" of shame is the I-95 corridor and it IS like a 3rd world country in much of that area.
For free viewing
sic.sc.gov - View "Corridor of Shame" (http://sic.sc.gov/sicvideoresources/viewcorridorofshame.htm - broken link)
Don't let the whole notion of being "last" in education fool you. That kind of stuff is thrown around by political candidates and others who can find any set of statistics to "prove" a point.
Just for context, I've also heard that:
Mississippi is last in education
Louisiana is last in education
Texas is last in education
District of Columbia is last in education
and on and on
If you are moving to Greenville or Spartanburg there are some great schools like you'd find anywhere in your typical upper-middle-income suburban communities. What area are you looking at moving to?
You may also want to check out the school and distrcit report cards by the SC Dept. of Education:
http://ed.sc.gov/topics/researchandstats/schoolreportcard/ (broken link)
We moved from Wisconsin and are attending private schools but, the education that we are getting in South Carolina cannot be purchased in Wisconsin. The schools are excellent, not just academically but socially as well. They are really working with the children to help them become good people. We looked at some of the public schools and found them to be vastly superior to those in Wisconsin. If you look at "statistics" Wisconsin as a state boasts about an 85% high school graduation rate, yet Milwaukee is DEAD LAST in the nation for graduation rate at 43%. There are large political fights in MKE about the condition of the public school system, the Mayor wants to take them over.
Just thought I'd chime in and say that people bring up "Schools in SC are ranked last" every single year around this time. I honestly don't pay attention to this report for two reasons:
1. South Carolina's school rating are heavily skewed by the low country, as well as other areas that are doing poorly. I would never trust any findings based on the state level, at least look into rankings on the county level before jumping to conclusions.
2. I used to have it linked, but I can't find the actual report right now. The report that shows South Carolina ranked last is a report that is released every year, but clearly states that the data used is from 2004.
I am literally just not going to pay attention to any report done at the state level for any state. I understand that I live in South Carolina, but basing my opinions on something reported on such a vast area, makes no sense whatsoever. This is the same reason I don't pay attention to state figures for unemployment or real estate statistics.
www.greatschools.com is a great resource. No matter where you are...I think most places are the same you can find great school in any location.
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