Spearman Announces SCPASS, ACT® Aspire®, and The ACT® Results
Columbia, S.C. – Today, State Superintendent of Education Molly M. Spearman made the following statement regarding SCPASS, Aspire, and ACT results from the spring 2015 administration.
"We are raising our standards to ensure our students are college- and career-ready to meet the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate," said Spearman. "We want to raise expectations of student achievement and ensure that our children have the resources to succeed. It is important to note that Aspire and ACT were administered for the first time in our state. District staff, principals, teachers, and parents must all work together to ensure our students are college- and career-ready, and I have great confidence that we're headed in the right direction," concluded Spearman.
Aspire and the 11th grade ACT tests administered this past spring are new assessments reflecting more rigorous academic standards and expectations. These results should be viewed as one part of a student's academic portrait of college- and career-readiness. Our Profile of the South Carolina Graduate reflects a new collaboration between the state's K-12 public education system, technical colleges, two and four-year colleges, and the business community, to ensure students are prepared for college and careers upon graduation. Adopting rigorous standards and accompanying assessments require an adjustment by students, parents, and teachers as we transition to a more challenging academic environment. These are new ways to measure student achievement and cannot be compared to previous assessments. Please also note that new English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics standards were adopted in 2015, and selection of new ELA and Mathematics assessments is currently in the procurement process. Therefore, we currently do not know to what extent the 2015 Aspire and ACT results can be compared to future assessment results.
For SCPASS Social Studies and Science tests, there were 408 students who achieved maximum scale scores in at least one test. Twelve students achieved maximum scale scores on both tests.
2015 SCPASS Social Studies Results
| Grade |
% Exemplary |
% Met |
% Not Met |
% Met or Above |
# of Students Tested |
| 4 |
35.6 |
49.7 |
14.7 |
85.3 |
55,217 |
| 5 |
34.3 |
37.2 |
28.6 |
71.4 |
54,589 |
| 6 |
31.8 |
45.7 |
22.5 |
77.5 |
54,691 |
| 7 |
37.1 |
30.8 |
32.1 |
67.9 |
55,086 |
| 8 |
39.6 |
33.8 |
26.6 |
73.4 |
55,850 |
South Carolina is just one of six states to earn a grade of A or A- on its Science standards, with most states earning grades of D or F. Our state’s rigorous Science standards are aligned to the SCPASS Science test.
2015 SCPASS Science Results
| Grade |
% Exemplary |
% Met |
% Not Met |
% Met or Above |
# of Students Tested |
| 4 |
13.1 |
56.8 |
30.1 |
69.9 |
55,240 |
| 5 |
19.3 |
47.1 |
33.7 |
66.3 |
54,596 |
| 6 |
16.2 |
47.4 |
36.4 |
63.6 |
54,720 |
| 7 |
27.2 |
40.9 |
31.8 |
68.2 |
55,101 |
| 8 |
32.3 |
32.9 |
34.8 |
65.2 |
55,867 |
A total of 2,081 students achieved at least one maximum scale score on the Aspire tests. The Aspire results for English were the highest (% Ready or Above) of the four tested subject areas. The Aspire composite scores can be seen here.
2015 ACT Aspire® Results
English
| Grade |
% Exceeding |
% Ready |
% Close |
% In Need of Support |
% Ready or Above |
# Tested |
| 3 |
34.1 |
31.0 |
29.4 |
5.5 |
65.1 |
56,709 |
| 4 |
32.1 |
35.1 |
26.2 |
6.6 |
67.2 |
55,002 |
| 5 |
35.0 |
32.6 |
25.9 |
6.4 |
67.6 |
54,390 |
| 6 |
33.1 |
33.2 |
23.7 |
10.0 |
66.3 |
54,618 |
| 7 |
36.9 |
33.3 |
20.9 |
8.9 |
70.2 |
55,008 |
| 8 |
37.6 |
33.2 |
21.7 |
7.6 |
70.8 |
55,849 |
Mathematics
| Grade |
% Exceeding |
% Ready |
% Close |
% In Need of Support |
% Ready or Above |
# Tested |
| 3 |
23.8 |
34.2 |
29.3 |
12.7 |
58.0 |
56,919 |
| 4 |
15.5 |
34.0 |
42.0 |
8.6 |
49.4 |
55,216 |
| 5 |
16.3 |
31.9 |
44.9 |
6.9 |
48.2 |
54,601 |
| 6 |
22.6 |
30.6 |
32.0 |
14.8 |
53.2 |
54,718 |
| 7 |
14.4 |
22.0 |
37.2 |
26.4 |
36.4 |
55,119 |
| 8 |
16.0 |
16.0 |
29.0 |
38.9 |
32.0 |
55,904 |
Reading
| Grade |
% Exceeding |
% Ready |
% Close |
% In Need of Support |
% Ready or Above |
# Tested |
| 3 |
10.6 |
21.2 |
19.3 |
48.9 |
31.8 |
56,803 |
| 4 |
12.6 |
20.2 |
31.3 |
35.8 |
32.8 |
55,089 |
| 5 |
15.9 |
17.6 |
30.3 |
36.1 |
33.6 |
54,505 |
| 6 |
15.5 |
21.4 |
30.3 |
32.9 |
36.9 |
54,643 |
| 7 |
8.3 |
28.6 |
33.6 |
29.5 |
36.9 |
55,042 |
| 8 |
14.1 |
32.6 |
24.4 |
28.9 |
46.7 |
55,848 |
Writing
| Grade |
% Exceeding |
% Ready |
% Close |
% In Need of Support |
% Ready or Above |
# Tested |
| 3 |
0.6 |
15.6 |
54.0 |
29.8 |
16.2 |
52,858 |
| 4 |
0.6 |
18.1 |
72.0 |
9.3 |
18.7 |
53,534 |
| 5 |
1.4 |
15.5 |
52.5 |
30.6 |
16.9 |
53,631 |
| 6 |
4.5 |
31.6 |
48.2 |
15.8 |
36.1 |
52,794 |
| 7 |
1.1 |
27.0 |
47.7 |
24.3 |
28.1 |
54,316 |
| 8 |
2.2 |
25.0 |
51.9 |
20.9 |
27.1 |
55,277 |
According to the ACT "The ACT Benchmarks are scores on the ACT subject-area tests that represent the level of achievement required for students to have a 50 percent chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75 percent chance of obtaining a C or higher in corresponding credit-bearing first-year college courses." A total of 167 students achieved a maximum scale score of 36 on one or more of the ACT subject tests. Six students scored high enough in every subject to earn a score of 36 on the composite scale, as well. Of the 48,818 students who took all four parts of the tests, there are 11.3 percent who are ready in all four subjects. The ACT notes in its report entitled "Anticipated Changes in ACT Scores and Participation Rates with ACT Statewide Adoption" that "Based on data from earlier ACT adoption states, states should expect decreases in mean ACT scores after statewide adoption of the ACT. After initial decreases in mean ACT scores, states tend to experience improvements in scores in subsequent years after adoption."
2015 The ACT 11th Grade Statewide Results
| Subject |
% Ready |
% Not Ready |
Scale Score Mean |
ACT Benchmark |
# Tested |
| English |
38.7 |
61.3 |
16.5 |
18 |
48,945 |
| Mathematics |
21.6 |
78.4 |
18.1 |
22 |
48,929 |
| Reading |
25.8 |
74.2 |
18.3 |
22 |
48,888 |
| Science |
17.9 |
82.1 |
18.1 |
23 |
48,838 |
| Composite* |
N/A |
N/A |
17.9 |
N/A |
48,818 |
| Writing |
N/A |
N/A |
5.3 |
N/A |
48,528 |
* Composite scores are based on English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science scores. Students must have valid scores for all four subjects in order to receive a composite score.
All subjects except writing are reported on a scale ranging from 1 to 36. Writing scale scores range from two to 12.
No Readiness Benchmarks have been established for Writing or the Composite Score. The % Not Ready and
% Ready cells for those scores are marked N/A (Not Applicable).
Below are some examples from several South Carolina four-year colleges with their middle 50 percent range of ACT test scores:
The data can be found on the SCDE website here.
ACT® Aspire® is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc.
ACT® is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc.
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