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It’s a refrain our media outlet has been sounding for years… decades, even. “Mo’ money, mo’ problems.” At some point, South Carolina leaders might recognize this wisdom applies to the ever-escalating investment they are making in the Palmetto State’s chronically failed government-run school system.
But clearly, we have not arrived at that point…
As state lawmakers shower nearly $19,000 per child, per year on their failed system – while tinkering at the edges of modest parental choice proposals – South Carolina’s underperforming government-run schools continue their decades-long struggle to achieve and sustain advances in academic outcomes.
Recently released 2024 data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – a.k.a. the “Nation’s Report Card” – saw South Carolina students post a modest increase in fourth grade math scores, but no other progress was made. Meanwhile, eighth grade math and fourth grade reading scores declined… again… while eighth grade reading scores remained flat.
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NAEP measures students in fourth and eighth grades every other year. Unlike state report cards, the numbers provide a rare “apples-to-apples” comparison of how Palmetto State schools are doing compared to their national peers.
As has been the case for the decades, the scores highlighted a huge – and growing – racial gap within the government-run system. According to the data, black students continue to lag well behind their white counterparts – despite billions of dollars being spent on programs purporting to target their academic achievement.
According to the report cards, this achievement gap not only persists across the board – it is expanding.
Among fourth graders, black students had an average reading score that was 32 points lower than white students – up from 29 points back in 1998. Similarly, black fourth graders’ average math score was 30 points lower than white students – the same as it was in 1998.
Among eighth grade students, blacks had an average math score that was 36 points lower than white students (compared to a 30-point deficit in 2000) while their average reading score was 26 points lower (compared to a 25-point deficit in 2000).
Clearly, additional taxpayer largesse – included targeted government programs – has failed to move the needle on academic achievement. Same goes for the cottage industry of government-administered “accountability” (including an entire state agency devoted to “oversight” of Palmetto public schools).
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RELATED | SOUTH CAROLINA FALLING SHORT ON CHOICE
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What will turn things around? The one thing our “Republican” supermajority refuses to try – the accountability of the marketplace. Or, school choice.
Unfortunately, even the most modest school choice proposals encounter significant blowback from GOP leaders.
Who is advancing true universal choice?
No one…
As previously noted, South Carolina badly trails its neighboring states and regional rivals in academic freedom – ranking No. 27 on the Cato Institute’s latest list. Florida and Georgia rank No. 3 and 8, respectively, while North Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia rank No. 12, No. 14 and No. 15, respectively.
Advancing on this index in the years to come will be absolutely critical to imposing the level of marketplace accountability necessary to raise academic achievement for all South Carolina school children.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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