District reports gains on end‑of‑course exams, highlights areas for growth and upcoming calendar vote

Alicia Johnson, executive director for secondary education, presented the Rockville School District’s 2024–25 South Carolina end‑of‑course exam (EOCEP) results at the Sept. 23 board meeting, saying the district saw increases in passing letter grades (A–D and A–C) across Algebra I, biology, English II and U.S. history from 2022 to 2025.

"You will see that there has been an increase in all areas, algebra, biology, English 2, and US history from 2022 to 2025," Johnson said. She told the board the district recorded an increase of approximately 9% of students scoring A–C in Algebra I.

Johnson outlined three priority areas for growth: aligning classroom instruction to the rigor of the standards, using daily work and benchmark assessments to identify learning gaps, and providing differentiated academic supports to meet individual student needs. She also described current actions underway, including continuous improvement plans in every school, teacher clarity work to align instruction to standards, and use of state‑approved instructional materials.

Board member Dr. Beth used her time to address concerns about earlier remarks she had made publicly, apologized for any offense and reiterated support for district staff while maintaining high expectations for test score improvement.

Superintendent Dr. Elder recognized Northwestern High School students in attendance, announced parent and staff roundtables (including a Sullivan Middle School parent roundtable and upcoming community roundtables including at least one on a Saturday), highlighted that 75 young women across the district’s three comprehensive high schools will play flag football this year (building on a Panthers/Nike sponsored program), and reminded families of early dismissal on Sept. 26 and the next board meeting on Oct. 14.