DRC Beacon

September 2 - 19

December 1-12

March 23 – April 2

6th-8th

DRC BEACON is an interim assessment that helps educators identify student learning needs, measure progress, and achieve growth. It checks for student learning with real-time online reports at multiple points during the school year, providing immediate insights that will help guide formative instructional practices and learning in classrooms.

CogAT

October 14 - 31

3rd-8th

Deadline for nominations: September 15

The identification of gifted and talented students is a multi-step process which consists of screening and referral, assessment of eligibility, and placement. The objective of the grade 2 testing program is to evaluate each student for the purpose of placement into a district Gifted and Talented program.  In accordance with State Board Regulation 43-220, students must meet the criteria for two out of the three dimensions outlined in this law. See SCDE’s Gifted and Talented web site for additional information.

PreACT

October 15

10th

* PSAT/NMSQT or PreACT

Sign-up Deadline: September 5

PreACT® assessments offer students an early experience with ACT test items, provides a predicted ACT test score, and offers a wealth of information to help students get the start they need to be college ready. Anchored on the ACT College and Career Readiness Standards, PreACT assessments help educators, students, and parents identify areas of academic strength and opportunity.

PSAT/NMSQT

October 14

8th, 10th*, 11th

*PSAT/NMSQT or PreACT

Sign-up Deadline: September 5

Taking the PSAT/NMSQT® is a great way to find out how prepared you are for college and career. The PSAT/NMSQT is the qualifying test for entry to the National Merit® Scholarship Program (described in the second part of this guide). The test also connects you to College Board programs and services that can propel you to opportunities you’ve earned.

ACT & SAT

ACT – October 1

SAT – October 7

Fall: 4th yr HS

Sign-up Deadline:

August 29

Spring: 3rd & 4th yr HS

Sign-up Deadline:

Note: 4th year HS students may only take one (ACT or SAT) during the school year

The SAT and the ACT are timed, multiple-choice examinations which measure a high school student’s readiness for college and provide colleges with one common data point that can be used to compare all applicants. For additional information about the SAT, please visit the College Board website. For additional information about The ACT, please visit the ACT website.

WIN

October 27 – November 7

March 23 – April 17

Fall: 4th yr HS

Spring 3rd & 4th yr HS

Note: 4th year HS students not CCR must take WIN

The South Carolina Career Ready Test is a career readiness test administered to all eleventh-grade students to measure the most common skills that employers define as foundational for career readiness. Students are assessed in four key areas: Soft Skills, Math, Reading, and Data.

Seal of Biliteracy

November 18 –

November 21

11th & 12th grade candidates

Fall

Sign-up Deadline:

October 17

Spring

Sign-up Deadline:

January 23

The SC Seal of Biliteracy is a nationally recognized credential granted by the South Carolina Department of Education certifying a students’ high proficiency in English and at least one other world language. The Seal is earned when the student has attained a minimum of a 3.0 ELA GPA and at least an intermediate mid-level of proficiency in a language other than English. The latter is assessed in their Junior and Senior year of high school through a state approved nationally recognized proficiency-based assessment.

EOCEP

(District EOC Benchmarks)

December 2 – ELA Writing

December 10 – Algebra 1, Biology 1, ELA Reading, US History

December 11 – 19 – Make Up Testing

English 2, Biology 1,

Algebra 1, and U.S. History

The End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) is a statewide assessment program of end-of-course tests for gateway courses awarded units of credit in English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The EOCEP encourages instruction in the specific standards for the courses, encourages student achievement, and documents the level of students’ mastery of the academic standards.  Gateway courses in English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies will be defined by the State Board of Education. EOCEP examination scores count 20 percent in the calculation of the student’s final grade in gateway courses. Defined gateway courses currently include Algebra 1, Intermediate Algebra, Biology 1, English 2, and United States History and the Constitution, or courses with other names and activity codes in which the academic standards corresponding to these subjects are taught.

ACCESS for ELLs

K-12th ESOL

All students in grades K-12 who are determined to have limited English proficiency – based upon the completion of a Home Language Survey and the initial assessment of their English proficiency – must take ACCESS for ELLs® or Alternate ACCESS each spring. This includes those students whose parents have waived direct MLP services.

Climate Surveys

March 3-21

Parents, Teachers,

3rd-12th Students

 The Education Accountability Act of 1998 specifies that, “school report cards should include information in such areas as…evaluations of the school by parents, teachers, and students.” Student, teacher, and parent/guardian opinion surveys have been designed to measure perceptions of three factors – Home and School Relations, School Learning Environments, and School Social and Physical Environments. Feedback received in these surveys provide valuable information to principals, teachers, parents, school improvement councils, and community groups in their efforts to identify areas for improvement.

SC READY

May 6-7: Reading

May 8: Science

May 13: Math

May 15: Writing

3rd-8th

The South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Assessments (SC READY) program is a statewide assessment in English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, science and social studies administered to students in grades 3–8 as required by the Education Accountability Act (EAA). The EAA was amended in 2018 to shorten testing by reducing the number of grade levels tested in social studies to grades 5 and 7 and for science to grades 4, 6, and 8. For the 2024-25 school year, Proviso 1.72 of the General Appropriations Bill suspended testing of grade 8 in science and grades 5 and 7 in social studies. As a result, students will be assessed in grades 4 and 6 in science. SC READY social studies will not be assessed in grades 3-8 during the 2024-25 school year.

James B. Edwards Civics Assessment

Last 2 weeks of each quarter

9th-12th

(enrolled in U.S. Govt)

As part of the high school curriculum regarding the United States government required credit, students are required to take the civics test. See S.C. Code § 59-29-240.

ASVAB and

ASVAB Career Exploration Program

November 6

The ASVAB is offered to high school students as part of the ASVAB Career Exploration Program. The program provides tools to help students learn more about career exploration and planning, in both the civilian and military worlds of work.