A sobering report presented to the Horry County school board shows high poverty to be a major contributor to the district’s achievement gap, a condition officials say must be addressed by district and community.
“This is not unique to Horry County Schools, but that does not minimize the data,” Edward Boyd, HCS chief accountability and information officer, told the board during the presentation Monday night. “The poverty gap is the number 1 indicator.”
The data show there is an achievement gap between white and black students and a gap between full-pay and subsidized meals students at all grade levels on all assessment measures. It also shows that for poor and minority students, the gap for student proficiency widens as they move through the grade levels.
Board members had asked for information on what the achievement gap looks like in the county, broken down between white and black students and between those eligible for subsidized meals and those who pay for meals.
The information was to be presented at the board’s January retreat but was moved to a work session to allow more time for discussion, Boyd said.
Board member Harvey Eisner, District 1, called the presentation “eye-opening.”
The school district’s demographics show that 66 percent of the district’s students are white, 21 percent are black , and 13 percent are of another race but predominantly Hispanic.
Looking at the lunch status demographic, 65 percent of all students are eligible for subsidized meals, while 35 percent are full pay.
While 52 percent of white students are eligible for subsidized meals, 92 percent of black students fall into that category, along with 82 percent of those of other races.
Boyd said the range for subsidized meals eligibility is wide, including families in abject poverty to a family of four with earnings in the area of $40,000 a year. Test scores treat everyone in that range the same, but all things are not equal, he said.
“It was a very honest portrayal of the achievement gap,” he said. “It’s not just a schools problem, it’s a society problem, and it’s important for all our communities to take hold of it and admit we have it. … We’ve all got to work together.”
The presentation also reported that:
• The elementary and middle poverty gap in English/language arts is not closing in two-thirds of the tested grades (except grades three and five). The elementary and middle grades minority gap in ELA is not closing at any grade.
• The poverty gap is at a three-year low in all tested grades (three through eight) on ELA for the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards. The minority gap on PASS Math is at a three-year low in two of three elementary tested grades and two of three middle grades.
• The poverty gap and minority gap on ELA for the High School Assessment Program, or exit exam, are at a three-year low for high school students (both proficiency and diploma levels). The poverty gap on HSAP Math is at a three-year low (proficiency and diploma levels), and the minority gap is at a three-year low at the diploma level.
• A mixed result is shown with the on-time graduation rate, which has the smallest achievement gap of any accountability measure, but the graduation rate is too low for all groups.
Boyd said the district can learn from the success that is already occurring at two schools – Socastee and South Conway elementary schools –where officials already are making significant progress in closing or eliminating achievement gaps.
Jackie Stanley, HCS multicultural coordinator, said these are a national set of concerns, but courageous conversations must be held on race and poverty to strengthen communities and prepare their children. Stanley also is part of the Achievement Gap Focus Group, which includes various community members who have been meeting on the issue since last spring.
“What I hope [the board] heard is that the challenge we have is not a school problem alone, and that it’s going to take the collaborative work of the entire community to deal with the issues that some of our children are facing,” she said.
Stanley said the academic results are an outcome of complex issues students face outside school, such as health, housing and family employment.
She said she hopes future funding and personnel decisions can be made that will build more bridges to support children, whether it’s efforts to help with homework or to keep them safe after school, and that the district can duplicate its successful, school-based strategies in areas that need them the most.
As a first step to action, Stanley said district office personnel are working on a community presentation to educate the community about the achievement gap and on developing strategies for how everyone can get involved in the effort. She said most people don’t know the real situation and need more information to get the big picture.
“We’re looking at longevity – we can’t fix it in a year,” Stanley said. “I think the school district should be commended for taking a look at some numbers that are not so pleasant to see,”
Stanley said she started as a teacher’s aide more than 30 years ago and has four children who went through the school system, so she has seen how far the district has come, “we just have a lot more territory to cover.”
“The hard work is coming,” she said, “but we must stay focused on the children. When we take our eye off what’s important, that’s when we run amuck.”
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