South Carolina High School Assessment Program
South Carolina’s Education Accountability Act of 1998 requires that all public school students pass an exit exam to receive a high school diploma. The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires that states test public high school students’ academic achievement in reading, language arts, and mathematics. AIR worked with the South Carolina Department of Education’s Office of Assessment to develop the High School Assessment Program (HSAP) to fulfill both of these requirements. The HSAP was given for the first time in spring 2004.
The two exams are based on the SC Curriculum Standards in English language arts and mathematics. To pass the HSAP, students must meet a minimum standard in both English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. Students who don’t meet this standard on one or both exams will retake the exam(s) at the next administration. Beginning with the class of 2006, high school students must pass the HSAP to receive a high school diploma.
The South Carolina Education Accountability Act of 1998 also required the development of end-of-course examinations in five gateway courses -- Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2, Biology 1/Applied Biology 2, English I, Physical Science, and U.S. History and the Constitution -- for grades nine through twelve. The EOCEP counts as 20% of students’ final grades in these courses.
For more information on the HSAP and EOCEP exams, visit the SC Office of Assessment’s web site.