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NAEP results show persistent subgroup gaps; PCSD leaders discuss responses
Summary
PCSD Superintendent John R. Payne reviewed NAEP results for South Carolina at the Feb. 13 meeting, noting little statewide change but persistent achievement gaps by race, poverty and disability; trustees and staff discussed using PCSD accountability tools and professional development to address gaps.
Superintendent John R. Payne presented 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) summary results to the SC Public Charter School District board on Feb. 13, noting statewide scores were largely unchanged from prior administrations but that persistent subgroup gaps remain.
Payne said statewide fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading results were “relatively unchanged” compared with earlier NAEP administrations and emphasized that NAEP provides a national comparability standard while not always aligning exactly with state standards. He called attention to subgroup performance: NAEP data in the packet showed that African American students and pupils from economically disadvantaged backgrounds scored substantially below peers in average NAEP points across assessed grades and subjects.
Payne and staff highlighted that public charter students in the NAEP sample frequently outperformed students in public schools for several subgroup comparisons, but gaps by race, poverty and disability remain. Payne told trustees PCSD staff are analyzing multiyear data by subgroup and will share findings through the district’s accountability framework to identify practices for closing gaps.
Trustees asked whether the district attributes the gaps to specific causes and what actions it is taking. Payne said the district is “examining the data” and cited interventions such as high-dosage tutoring, tiered supports, stronger core curricula, and professional development (including work with Clemson and the district’s "click" cohort) as levers. He said PCSD staff are identifying schools with inverse achievement gaps to study practices that appear successful.
A trustee asked whether private Catholic schools’ performance merits study; Payne and other trustees discussed the possibility of learning from high-performing private and charter schools, noting variation in student selection and admission among private institutions.
The session closed with trustees and staff agreeing to continue data analysis and share recommended school-level goals and supports aligned to closing achievement gaps.
