2002 PACT scores show Richland One middle school students continue to improve performance 

Richland One students in grades six through eight showed gains on the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Tests (PACT) administered in May. Most notably, five of the nine middle schools improved their performance in English language arts and seven of the nine middle schools showed improvement in the mathematics section of the tests.

The number of Richland One elementary-school students who scored at or above Basic on PACT English language arts remained the same as last year (74 percent) and increased 3 percentage points (to 61 percent) in math. In addition, the number of middle-school students who met or exceeded the state standard rose 2 percentage points (to 63 percent) in English language arts and 2 percentage points (to 51 percent) in math.

Overall, Richland One's 2002 PACT scores showed:

·        gains in English language arts, ranging from 1 to 14 percentage points,  in 13 elementary schools

·        gains in math, ranging from 1 to 15 percentage points, in 18 elementary schools 

·         gains in English language arts, ranging from 3 to 7 percentage points, in five middle schools  and

·        gains in math, ranging from two to 6 percentage points, seven middle schools.

The greatest rate of district-level improvement on PACT was for African American students who improved 5 percentage points in mathematics and two percentage points in English language arts in the percent scoring at or above Basic.

 "Richland One has made substantial progress in student achievement since the inception of PACT in 1999," said Richard Moniuszko, deputy superintendent. "We continued that pattern of student gains in 2002, especially with African-American students."