Bill > H5073

This bill aims to reform public school grading practices in South Carolina to better reflect student mastery and prepare them for college and careers. It prohibits schools from assigning minimum grades that exceed a student's actual performance and mandates that only academic performance be considered in high school course grades, aligning with the "Profile of the Graduate" initiative. To ensure accountability, the bill states that if a school district violates these grading rules, ten percent of its State Aid to Classroom funding will be withheld. Furthermore, students must complete all required assignments to be eligible for credit recovery or content recovery programs, which are defined within the South Carolina Uniform Grading Policy. The bill also restricts the use of certain assessments, specifically formative assessments and district-selected benchmark assessments (defined as those where teachers cannot review items in advance or that cover untaught content), in calculating final course grades, though it allows for their use to improve instruction. Finally, the State Board of Education is directed to form a task force by the start of the 2026-2027 school year to evaluate and recommend revisions to the Uniform Grading Policy, with the goal of making grades more meaningful indicators of achievement and reducing reliance on recovery programs, with any adopted revisions to be implemented by the 2028-2029 school year.

Education

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=5073&session=126&summary=B