In Beaufort County the disappointment is even worse. Beaufort High School students scored 42 points higher than they did last year, but the average is still 14 points below the state's 986 average and 54 points below the 1026 national average. Battery Creek dropped 20 points from its 939 average last year, and Hilton Head High School dropped 29 points from its 1016 score in 2003.
The bright spot this year is that Hispanic students' average score increased 14 points to 976, despite a 29 percent increase in the number of students taking the test. White students had an average score of 1,032, which is 7 points lower than the previous year. Black students had an average score of 842, a drop of 5 points.
While Beaufort County students had a sub par performance, Jasper County students still have a dismal showing. The average composite score was 798, up 10 points from 788 in 2003, but 188 points below the state average and 242 points below the national average.
Inez Tenenbaum, state superintendent of education, says a 3-point drop isn't enough to spoil the gains made over the last five years. The gains are noble, but he loss is significant in a state that has so much ground to gain to reach the national average.
While South Carolina has adopted several measuring instruments to determine how well a school is performing, this year's scores have led Gov. Mark Sanford to call for education reform. Last year he reiterated his support for charter schools and said local governments should have more control over state education money. This year he says, "Whether it's charter school reform or our 'Put Parents in Charge' proposal, this administration is going to continue pushing for fundamental reforms to the current system that give parents more choices and kids more opportunities."
Among the things local school officials might consider is a suggestion from a 1989 report by the Commission on the Future of South Carolina, but we doubt the County Council would approve the financial increase needed to pay for it.
The commission recommended that the number of hours in the school day and the number of days in the school year be extended. This would permit time for remediation, curriculum enrichment and supervised study time.
Another approach includes parents and the community. More parents and citizens must take an interest and make sacrifices to improve students' academic standing.
A magic bullet for improving SAT scores doesn't exist. It will take not only a rigorous curriculum, it will take rigorous work by individual students. Also among the requirements is that school administrators set the bar high. Climbing from the basement of SAT scores will take a lot of work by many people.