Are SC schools really that bad? (Columbia, Charleston: best schools, live in, law)

[groove1]

Yep, SC schools are horrible (said sarcastically):

Fort Mill Schools

[gbv]

Originally Posted by groove1

Yep, SC schools are horrible (said sarcastically):

Fort Mill Schools

Yep, that's an authoritative source. Sarcasm back at 'ya.

Of course, there will be outliers from any affluent school district such as Fort Mill who will go to prestigious colleges, etc., but by in large, the state lags behind. A few success stories from Fort Mill and an influx of Yankees to that area aren't going to change things overnight. Just look at data from the US Department of Education and not some silly website comprised of public reviews.

[SCBeaches]

[quote=gbv;2226947]"No, texasluver is right. My spouse worked in one of the "top high schools" in South Carolina and even the honors kids were lousy writers, spellers, etc. All this talk about certain high schools in SC being among the nation's best is absurd. I work a bit with dual enrollment kids at my middle-of-the-road U in the Midwest and they are leaps above and beyond students in SC. Take the average high schooler from York County, SC and pin him/her up against the average high schooler from Hennepin County, MN and it would be the equivalent of a toy poodle trying to fight a pit bull. SC has no history of social programs and a tremendous class divide. It will take generations to overcome that. If retirees, who traditionally do not want to pay taxes, keep moving there, then SC will continue to lag behind."


Wow, I'm impressed - you have been in every single school in the state of South Carolina and visited long enough to read the students' writing and study their test scores...and on top of that you know all about dog fights? Very impressive analogy....

I happen to teach in a top school (24 years) and my son graduated from the Academic Magnet High School in Charleston (rated one of the top 10 high schools in the nation), after which he was accepted to every university he applied to (in 5 different states). He and his peers all attended wonderful colleges and universities and now have successful careers....and all because of their "lousy" education in SC. Go figure!

[jenn02674]

I don't think you understood my post at all. It is a fact that SC has some of the highest state standards in the country. I have no idea where TX or MN or whereever else falls on that list. As I said in my other post, IF a school gets a good SC report card, you can be sure that the school is a good school. That doesn't mean that all schools get a good report cards. I am well aware that there are some very bad schools in SC as well but to make a blanket statement like that is absurd.

Check out this site that rates the state standards. SC got a B. Only three states got an A. MN got a D by the way: Thomas B. Fordham Institute - The State of State Standards 2006

"South Carolina ranked first nationwide for education standards, assessments and accountability in the latest Quality Counts annual report by Education Week." Report shows South Carolina using strong academic standards : Local News : Anderson Independent-Mail

"Massachusetts, South Carolina, Wyoming, Arkansas, and Connecticut, in that order, had the five highest "NAEP score equivalents." In other words, Massachusetts' proficiency standard matched the NAEP standard for 4th grade reading better than any other state's. Mississippi had the worst score equivalents in that subject and grade, followed by Tennessee, Georgia, Alaska, and Oklahoma." Stanford University School of Education > News Bureau

"The authors of the study concluded that "Colorado, Wisconsin and Michigan generally have the lowest proficiency standards in reading, while South Carolina, California, Maine and Massachusetts have the highest. In math, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin have the lowest standards, while South Carolina, Massachusetts, California and New Mexico have the highest."
JS Online: State sets low test standards

In addition, Fort Mill High school was named among the top thirty high schools in the nation to be showcased at the Model Schools conference this summer by the Gates Foundation just a few years ago.

There are several high schools on Newsweeks list of top public high schools.

I could go on and on. This information is very easy to find with just a simple google search. People need to get their facts right before they go off spouting some regurgitated crap that they heard from someone else. I guarantee that in a few years SC schools AS A WHOLE will be in the top 50%.. SC does have some of the worst schools in the country, no one is denying that but we most certainly do have some of the best by anyone's standards.

[groove1]

Originally Posted by gbv

Yep, that's an authoritative source. Sarcasm back at 'ya.

Of course, there will be outliers from any affluent school district such as Fort Mill who will go to prestigious colleges, etc., but by in large, the state lags behind. A few success stories from Fort Mill and an influx of Yankees to that area aren't going to change things overnight. Just look at data from the US Department of Education and not some silly website comprised of public reviews.

But Fort Mill schools have been good for a long time before the influx of Yankees, mainly due to the generosity of the Springs Close family.

[texasluver]

Originally Posted by gbv

No, texasluver is right. My spouse worked in one of the "top high schools" in South Carolina and even the honors kids were lousy writers, spellers, etc. All this talk about certain high schools in SC being among the nation's best is absurd. I work a bit with dual enrollment kids at my middle-of-the-road U in the Midwest and they are leaps above and beyond students in SC. Take the average high schooler from York County, SC and pin him/her up against the average high schooler from Hennepin County, MN and it would be the equivalent of a toy poodle trying to fight a pit bull. SC has no history of social programs and a tremendous class divide. It will take generations to overcome that. If retirees, who traditionally do not want to pay taxes, keep moving there, then SC will continue to lag behind.

BTW, one of GB's former business professors from Harvard U said he was one of the worst, least insightful students he's ever taught. Yes, he is stupid.

well...it is obvious that the SC folks will stand true to the schools there.....poor kids and adults for that matter!
There is nothing that I would commend the SC on.....nothing!

[jenn02674]

If you grew up in the Texas schools obviously they didn't teach you much about reading comprehension. If you don't like SC that is all fine and dandy, I don't particuarly care, but don't go off spouting inaccurate information.

As we have said a zillion times, yes there are very, very bad schools in SC. Not one person has disputed that. What we were pointing out and what you don't seem to get is that SC has improved it's standards so much that it now has some of the toughest standards in the country. That doesn't mean that every single school is great. The same exact thing goes for Texas. Our best regular public school districts (as in not a charter or magnet school) like Fort Mill or Greenville would eat your best public school districts for lunch.

[bibit612]

Originally Posted by jenn02674

If you grew up in the Texas schools obviously they didn't teach you much about reading comprehension. If you don't like SC that is all fine and dandy, I don't particuarly care, but don't go off spouting inaccurate information.

As we have said a zillion times, yes there are very, very bad schools in SC. Not one person has disputed that. What we were pointing out and what you don't seem to get is that SC has improved it's standards so much that it now has some of the toughest standards in the country. That doesn't mean that every single school is great. The same exact thing goes for Texas. Our best regular public school districts (as in not a charter or magnet school) like Fort Mill or Greenville would eat your best public school districts for lunch.

I agree. It is harder to get good grades in SC schools because the standards are higher. We like schools that raise the bar instead of just catering to No Child Left Behind guidelines.

[SCBeaches]

Thank you,Jenn and Bibit- well said!

To Texasluver: Put that in your 10-gallon hat and eat it (in Texas, please).

[nic529]

Steve - does your fiance know that corporal punishment still exists in SC? I've heard that a lot of the schools don't use it anymore, but it may be something she may want to take into consideration. I know its got me thinking about moving down there.