72% of Greenville County Schools Rated Excellent or Good on State Report Cards

In Greenville County, 44% of schools scored Excellent and 28% scored Good on the South Carolina Department of Education (SDE) annual school report cards for the 2021-22 school year, which is significantly higher than the 21% schools across the state scoring Excellent and 22% scoring Good.

The district’s high school graduation rate increased to 84.8%, which is an increase over last year and an increase of 12.4 points since 2012. Additionally, 72.7% of the 2021-22 graduation cohort met one or more of the markers for College and Career Readiness, which is a 6.9% increase from last year.

The report card ratings, graduation rate, and college and career readiness results all point to the intentionality and positive impacts of the district’s Graduation Plus (G+) initiative, which is the district’s framework from Pre-K through 12th grade to ensure that GCS students graduate with a diploma PLUS college credit and/or industry certification.

“The results of the report card ratings show the hard work and progress that has been made in spite of the challenges of the pandemic,” said GCS Superintendent Burke Royster. “Our schools have maintained their overall ratings and continued to significantly outperform the state. Our graduation rate continues to increase and is just slightly below the pre-pandemic graduation rate. We have made remarkable gains with the percentage of students graduating college- or career-ready. All of these achievements are based upon performance through May of 2022, before the pandemic moved into an endemic status. We are proud of the commitment by our students, school staff, district administration, and the GCS Board of Trustees to continue to move beyond the disruptions presented by the pandemic.”

The purpose of the annual state report card is to inform and report to parents and the community the performance of entire districts as well as primary, elementary, middle, and high schools.

The annual state report card rates Academic Achievement, Preparing for Success, Student Progress, English Learners’ Progress, and School Climate for elementary, middle, and high schools. Graduation Rate and College and Career Readiness are additional rated indicators for high schools. High schools are not rated on Student Progress, while Child Development Centers and Career Centers do not receive state report cards.

Sterling School and Rudolph Gordon, both serving grades K-8, received two scores, one each for Elementary and Middle School Programs. Fountain Inn High School opened in the 2021-2022 school year, and therefore, does not receive an overall rating. Washington Center, serving K-12 students with disabilities, does not receive an overall rating. Langston Charter Middle School is not included in these counts.

Of the 14 GCS high schools, 8 achieved a higher graduation rate than the state, with Woodmont and Riverside High Schools both graduating more than 90% of the students who entered 9th grade four years earlier.

Greenville County Schools vs State of South Carolina - Graduation Rate

Greenville County Schools 2022 Graduation Rate by High School

Eleven (11) of the 14 high schools improved their overall College and Career Readiness percentage from 2020-21 to 2021-22. For the same school year, all 14 high schools increased the percentage of their graduation cohort completing work-based learning, and 10 of the 14 high schools increased their percentage of the graduation cohort completing state and/or national industry certifications.

The new CCR results (as of 2020) cannot be compared to that of previous years because the cohort of students measured has changed from graduates to all students in the four year on-time graduation cohort (graduates and non-graduates). Fountain Inn High School is not included in the above since it opened in fall 2021.