Singing the Blues over the SAT

Yes, I'm going to be negative. There's plenty to be negative about! Despite CCSD's boast regarding the hike in its overall SAT scores for 2007, the picture remains gloomy. We aren't keeping up with the Joneses.

Should we cheer because CCSD is approaching the South Carolina state average?

• Should we be happy that CCSD's two magnet high schools (School of the Arts and Academic Magnet) made it into the top 15 in a state ranked 49th?
• Can we reassure ourselves that the problem suggested by the P & C, "Revised SAT stumps students for second year," has caused South Carolina to lag?
• Maybe we should be happy that only four of the lowest performing high schools in the state are in Charleston County, even if CCSD does have more low performers than any other school district in the state.
• Best of all, we can be happy that the Writing section isn't counted in the rankings since that would have put us DEAD LAST.
• I know, we can revel in beating the District of Columbia, that notoriously corrupt district that has just been taken over by its mayor!
• And, furthermore, we've slammed the great State of Maine, which did come in dead last--because ALL of its high school seniors (100%) were required to take the SAT.

Courrege and Hagen quote Jim Rex as saying, "The state is headed in the right direction, but it needs to have greater improvement at a faster rate." In the right direction? Didn't the overall scores just DROP?

While pointing to a nine-point gain in CCSD's composite score, McGinley also acknowledges that about half of the district's high schools saw their scores drop. That's with only 60 percent taking the test overall in the district, and those are from the 50% left in the schools by senior year, thanks to CCSD's massive dropout rate.

Does anyone besides Jim Rex think that a "new funding system for the state's schools" and "pay increases and a public relations campaign" improving the morale of teachers is the answer to this problem?