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SDPC uses the South Carolina College and Career Ready Standards. These standards provide a consistent framework to prepare students for success in the 21st century.​

Career planning is an integral part of all students’ education and ultimately prepares them for employment. It is never too early for students to begin exploring interests and possible career paths. To better facilitate career planning for students, the School District of Pickens County implements the South Carolina Comprehensive Developmental Guidance and Counseling Plan. This plan enables the career planning to begin in the K-5 grades as counselors work with elementary teachers to introduce students to the world of careers. In middle school, students have the opportunity to explore careers through elective classes, career center visits, career summer academies, and through creating their Individualized Graduation Plan (IGP). 

The School District of Pickens County currently offers numerous majors in all sixteen of the state and federal career clusters. For a comprehensive list of schools of study, career clusters and majors, please see the SDPC Course Selection Guide.  

After the student has completed his/her IGP and the parents have met and approved the document, the student should use that information in the registration process by reviewing course offerings that are related to the chosen major. Descriptions of the courses are found in the Course Selection Guide. The most up-to-date version is on the district website.

Finally, students in ninth through twelfth grades will begin the phase of career preparation. This involves students connecting their education to their careers of choice. Students in the tenth grade will select a major within their preferred cluster of study. To complete majors, students must complete four units/credits in the specific major. Students will be allowed to complete multiple majors, if they choose, and are not required to complete a major to graduate from high school.  

The Education and Economic Development Act of 2005 provides all students the opportunity to develop rigorous and relevant academic skills and the opportunity to connect what they learn in school with the real world through learning experiences at various work sites. These learning experiences include, but are not limited to, mentoring, shadowing and service learning. School-to-work experiences and youth apprenticeships are provided through majors at the career center and some career technology education (CTE) courses such as education and training, business, and agriculture at the high schools.

As students annually complete their Individual Graduation Plans, they have opportunities to discuss with a counselor and possibly plan an "extended learning opportunity" that is related to their career majors of choice.

​The ACT and SAT included four curriculum-based tests that measure students' educational development in English, mathematics, reading and science reasoning. Most colleges accept the ACT for admission.  

South Carolina laws passed in 2014 established that a college and career readiness assessment for 11th grade students will be required. The ACT and SAT are the college readiness assessments for SC.  Beginning with the 17-18 school year, students can choose in their third year in high school whether they want to take the ACT or the SAT.

ACCUPLACER is the test that will be replacing ACT COMPASS beginning with the 2016-17 school year.  ACCUPLACER is a suite of computerized tests that determines your knowledge in math, reading and writing as you prepare to enroll in college-level courses.  ACCUPLACER is an interactive online learning tool that is computer-adaptive.  It is a college placement test that allows post-secondary educators to evaluate incoming students' skill levels and college-readiness. The results of the test can be used to place students in appropriate courses and connect students to the resources they need to achieve academic success. Eleventh grade students in SDPC take this test to help them identify areas of strengths and relative weakness as they prepare to select courses for their final year of high school.

Ready to Work is an e-learning career and college ready curriculum and career readiness assessments preparing learners to be career and college ready in both academic and soft skills.  The Ready to Work assessment is a workforce education and development tool, comprised of three proctored assessments, Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information, and Locating Information, leading to a work ready credential.  It brings employers, learners/job-seekers, and education/workforce partners together in building a skilled workforce, while keeping and attracting businesses with higher-wage jobs and national economic growth.  This test is aligned to the WorkKeys job skills assessment. The Ready to Work Essential Soft Skills Assessment is composed of questions measuring entry-level work tasks and behaviors, including cooperating with others, resolving conflict and negotiating, solving problems and making decisions, observing critically and taking responsibility for learning.   

SC READY is the assessment for English and Math in grades 3-8 and Science in grades 4 and 6. The South Carolina College-and Career-Ready Assessments (SC READY) are statewide assessment in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics that will meet all of the requirements of Acts 155 and 200, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), and the Assessments Peer Review Guidance.  All students in grades 3-8 are required to take the SC READY except those who qualify for the South Carolina National Center and State Collaborative (SC-NCSC).  SC READY Assessments are not timed.  SC READY will be administered online and the assessment schedule will be provided to parents through the school websites and newsletters..  SC READY is aligned to our State's College and Career Readiness Standards, and the assessments are focused on college and career readiness.  Scores reflect the knowledge and skills students develop over time—across grades—and link these results to readiness for college and career, providing an evolving picture of student growth.  SC READY results will be used for federal accountability under the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA).  This test must be administered during the last twenty school days. 

The Advanced Placement (AP) program offers students the opportunity to pursue college-level studies while still in high school and to receive advanced placement credit, college credit, or both based on their performance on rigorous AP examinations. Different colleges have different policies concerning accepting AP credit. Students should check with the colleges of their choice for their requirements.  An additional 1.0 weighting is given to Advanced Placement courses.

End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) - The Education Accountability Act of 1998 requires that end-of-course examinations in gateway or benchmark courses be given for grades 9 through 12. These examinations (which will count 20% of the student's grade in the gateway or benchmark course) include Algebra 1/Intermediate Algebra, English 2, U.S. History and Constitution, Biology/Applied Biology. Students in Intermediate Algebra will take the test; students in Foundations in Algebra will not. EOCEP results are used for federal accountability under the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA).  Except for the writing portion, this test must be administered during the last fifteen school days.  

ACCESS for ELLs (Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English language Learners) is a secure large-scale English language proficiency assessment given to Kindergarten through 12th graders who have been identified as English Language Learners (ELLs).​ ACCESS results will also be used for federal accountability under the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA).

The WIDA ACCESS Placement Test is the screener used to identify students who may be candidates for English as a Second Language (ESL).  It is an adaptive test that determines students' proficiency up to and beyond level 5 of WIDA English language Proficiency (ELP) levels.  It is given to incoming students who may be designated as English learners.  It assists educators with programmatic placement decisions such as identification and placement of ELLs.  The test assesses the four language domains of listening, speaking, reading and writing.  It is individually administered and adaptive, meaning that part of the test may be discontinued as soon as the student reaches his or her "performance ceiling."

Identification of Gifted and Talented Students - An aptitude test and an achievement test are given to second graders in the fall of the school year. Students must score 93rd percentile or higher on the aptitude test and 94th percentile or higher on the achievement test in either reading or mathematics in order to be identified as gifted. 

Readiness Assessments in Pre-K and Kindergarten - In compliance with the South Carolina Read to Succeed Act and provisos, readiness assessments for students in prekindergarten and kindergarten must be administered.  Strategies GOLD is given to prekindergarten students and KRA is given to 5K students.  

Strategies GOLD Assessment - Strategies GOLD is an authentic assessment embedded in everyday interactions with young children in the classroom.  Our teachers observe children in the context of daily experiences such as participation in whole group activities, playing in centers, or being active outside.  This is an effective way to learn what a child knows and can do. Teaching Strategies GOLD is based on 38 objectives for development and learning that include predictors of school success and are based on school readiness standards.  These objectives align with our SC Early Learning Standards and help teachers deterimine a child’s progress in being ready for kindergarten.  This assessment is administered during the first and final 45 days of school.  A mid-year assessment also provides information on essential standards.  

Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) - The KRA is a developmentally appropriate instrument that measures a child’s school readiness across multiple domains.  Understanding a child’s school readiness helps kindergarten teachers best meet the child’s needs, and it helps schools, families, communities and policy makers know how best to support young children as they enter the K-12 environment.  The KRA determines each child’s readiness level from an evaluation of four domains: Social Foundations, Language/Literacy, Mathematics, and Physical Well-Being.  The KRA provides a snapshot of students’ abilities at the beginning of the school year.   KRA is administered to 5K students during the first 45 days of school.  Results of these tests are shared with parents, along with suggestions on how to keep building your child's early skills. 

I-Ready - In accordance with Proviso 1.76, all students in grades 1-8 must take an interim assessment in English Language Arts and Math three times a year; fall, winter and spring.  In SDPC, the assessment used is the i-Ready Diagnostic Assessment.  This formative assessment provides teachers with formative information about a student’s ability in ELA and Math.  The results from the test show whether or not the student is on grade level with their understanding of their grade level standards.  This information is used to drive instruction and determine a student’s growth.

The PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) is a multiple-choice test that measures critical reading, verbal reasoning, math problem solving and writing skills important for academic performance in college.  

NCSC Alternate Assessment – National Center and State Collaborative Alternate Assessment is an alternate assessment on alternative achievement standards for ELA, mathematics, science and social studies that are aligned to our State Standards.  This alternative assessment is for students with significant cognitive disabilities who are assessed by alternative achievement standards as they are unable to participate in the general assessment program with accommodations. SC NCSC alternate assessment is grade-level specific assessment that is computer-delivered to students in grades 3-8 and 11.  This test is no longer age dependent.​

Semester and Final Exams

Courses without a State-Mandated End-of-Course Test

Courses with a State Mandated End-of-Course Test

The state-prepared end-of-course test will count 20% of the total grade for the course. No first semester examination will be given. No examination exemptions are allowed. If a student does not complete the end-of-course examination, the student must repeat the course the following year and is not eligible for credit recovery. The teacher has the option of giving nine-weeks tests at the end of the first, second, and third grading periods. The English 2 EOCEP will be administered to all students in English 2 for the 2019-2020 school year. In August, schools will explain to students how these assessments and/or midterm/final exams will count in their grade calculations.

The principal’s responsibility for supervision of instruction will include seeing that the examinations are appropriate and well-prepared by the teachers.

Yearlong Courses: Semester examinations will be administered to all students in Carnegie unit courses per the SDPC Academic Calendar. In yearlong courses, the examination grade will carry a weight of 20% when computing the semester average at the end of each semester. The final examination (second semester) will test only material covered during the second semester.

Examinations will be administered to all students at the end of the first semester and at the end of the course. Students with a cumulative average of 90 or above will be exempt from taking the final examination. No grade will be recorded for exempted examinations. Nine weeks tests at the end of the first and third grading period will be optional.

Semester Courses: In each semester course, the examination grade will carry a weight of 20% of the grade for the semester. Students with a cumulative average of 90 or above will be exempt from taking the semester course examination. No grade will be recorded for exempted examinations. A nine weeks test at the end of the first grading period for the course will be optional.

The Education and Economic Development Act of 2005 provides all students the opportunity to develop rigorous and relevant academic skills and the opportunity to connect what they learn in school with the real world through learning experiences at various work sites. These learning experiences include, but are not limited to, mentoring, shadowing and service learning. School-to-work experiences and youth apprenticeships are provided through majors at the career center and some career technology education (CTE) courses such as education and training, business, and agriculture at the high schools.

As students annually complete their Individual Graduation Plans, they have opportunities to discuss with a counselor and possibly plan an "extended learning opportunity" that is related to their career majors of choice.

See board policies IKE and IKE-R.

The School District of Pickens County welcomes parent/student interest in its programs for academically gifted and talented (GT) students.

Definition: Gifted and talented students are those who are identified in Grades 1-12 as demonstrating high performance ability or potential in academic and/or artistic areas and therefore require an educational program beyond that normally provided by the general school program in order to achieve their potential. (R43-220)

The School District of Pickens County is funded to serve students who are academically gifted and talented in Grades 3-11.

Purpose of the Program: The purpose of the programs that serve gifted and talented students is to provide curriculum, instruction, and assessment that maximize the potential of the identified students. Educational programs for academically gifted and talented students exhibit the following characteristics:

• Content, process, and product standards that exceed the state adopted standards for all students;

• Goals and indicators that require students to demonstrate depth and complexity of knowledge and skills;

• Instructional strategies that accommodate the unique needs of gifted learners;

• An integrated approach that incorporates acceleration and enrichment;

• Opportunities for worldwide communications/research; and

• Evaluation of student performance.

Special Note: Any student who has been identified gifted but who chooses not to participate in the program at any point in the year must have a parent sign a waiver to be excluded from service. The student may petition the school to receive GT service the next school year. She/he will not be readmitted during the same school year in which the waiver was granted.

Identification: Students must qualify for service in two of the three dimensions below:

Students who score at or above the 93rd national age percentile in either verbal/linguistic, quantitative/mathematical or non-verbal on an individual or group aptitude test have met the criterion for this dimension. A composite score of 96th national age percentile makes a student automatically eligible for services.

SDPC tests all second grade students during the fall semester of each school year with an aptitude test.

Students who score at or above the 94th percentile on either the reading comprehension or the math concepts/problem solving subtests of nationally norm-referenced achievement tests (iREADY or SC READY) have met the criterion for this dimension.

Only one of these criteria needs to be satisfied to meet standard on this dimension.

If the standard has been met on both Dimension A and B, the student is eligible for service. If the student has met the standard in Dimension B but not in Dimension A, the district may administer a second aptitude test, the "In View" test.

Students who have met the criteria in either Dimension A or Dimension B are eligible to move on to Dimension C. Students may take the STAR Performance test once in either Grade 2 or 3 and/or once in either Grade 4 or 5. These tests will be given in February or March each school year and will be scored by an independent contractor. They are secure documents. The standard is "16" for either verbal or non-verbal in the second grade. The standard is "18" for either verbal or non-verbal in the third grade. The standard is "16" for verbal or "22" non-verbal for fourth grade and "18" verbal or "25" non-verbal for fifth grade students.

Students in Grades 5-10 may qualify for gifted and talented services by using high performance on their end-of-year report card. A 3.75 on a 4.0 scale in the core academic subjects will satisfy the requirements for this dimension.

Screening and Referral Process: The School District of Pickens County conducts a census screening of second-grade students during the fall semester. Students whose aptitude scores are more than two years old are referred for aptitude testing in August/September as well. Parents, teachers, and administrators may refer a student for testing at any time during the year. After the aptitude tests have been administered, the Evaluation Placement Team at the school makes recommendations for identified students to be placed into the program in accordance with Regulation 43-220.

Program Models: The following models are used to deliver services to academically gifted and talented students:

Pull-Out Class: In this model, gifted and talented students are removed from the regular classroom for a specified period each week to receive differentiated instruction. Multi-grade grouping may be used in this model to constitute classes of sufficient size.

Special Class: This model is a self-contained gifted and talented class organized around one or more academic disciplines. The special class delivers services to identified students through a curriculum accelerated to meet their needs.

Parents who would like additional information on identification procedures or program services may contact the student’s school or the district gifted and talented coordinator.

The School District of Pickens County offers the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program. The ESOL program provides instruction to Non-English Speaking (NES) and Limited English Proficient (LEP) students using a tutorial model. ESOL services are provided to students according to each student’s level of proficiency as determined by the WIDA ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT) and Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State (ACCESS).

The ESOL program supplements the services the ESOL student receives in his or her regular classroom. Working collaboratively with the child’s classroom teacher, the ESOL teacher prepares an individualized curriculum for each student to meet his or her general language needs. This curriculum reinforces concepts in the student’s content area classes but does not replace the content instruction in the regular classroom.

The goal of the School District of Pickens County’s ESOL program is to provide equal educational opportunities to students who have a primary or home language other than English. The ultimate goal of the ESOL program is for each student to achieve listening, speaking, reading, and writing proficiency to be successful in all classes.

The purpose of the Migrant Education Program (MEP) is to ensure that migrant students have the opportunity to meet the same challenging state content and students’ performance standards that all children are expected to meet. School districts provide educational and support services that assist migrant students to overcome educational disruption, cultural and language barriers, and other problems that result from repeated moves. A "migratory child" means a child who is, or whose parent or spouse is, a migratory worker in the agriculture or fishing industry, and who, in the preceding 36 months, has moved to obtain temporary or seasonal employment in the agricultural or fishing industry. For more information, please contact your school or the SDPC administrative offices.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ensures education rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness. The Act ensures that homeless students enroll in school immediately and continue their education with as little disruption as possible. The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children and youth as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. For more information, please contact your local school or the SDPC administrative offices.

Field trips are planned to meet specific instructional goals. Costs are always kept to a minimum. Written permission from the parents is required before a child is permitted to participate. Each school administration has the right to refuse participation on field trips based on problems with conduct. Students must ride on the bus when on field trips.

Field trip chaperones must be at least 21 years of age and must have had the School District of Pickens County volunteer training. As a part of their duties, chaperones must ride with the students on the furnished transportation. No additional children may be brought by chaperones.

SDPC checks all visitors and volunteers through the National Sex Offenders’ Registry. We also require a background check through the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) for all persons who chaperone students on field trips and those who escort or supervise students without a district employee present. The chaperone/volunteer will be required to pay $26 for his/her check. Checks should be made payable to the school.

A chaperone/volunteer who needs a background check should request and pay for it two weeks before the date of any field trip.

According to SDPC Policy IJOA, a school may set specific standards in the areas of behavior, attendance, and grades for students to participate in a field trip. These standards must be approved by the superintendent or designee prior to going into effect. After being approved at the district level, these standards must then be communicated to parents/guardians in writing in advance of the field trip.

In order for a school’s standards to be approved at the district level, the following conditions must be present:

• To disqualify a student for misbehavior, the student must have a discipline record that contains an out-of-school suspension. The principal must then verify that this out-of-school suspension was earned for bona fide inappropriate behavior.

• To disqualify a secondary student due to attendance, the student must have already exceeded the maximum number of unlawful absences allowed in a specific course.

• ​To disqualify a secondary student for grades, the student must be failing a course that is required for promotion to the next grade or for graduation that would be missed due to the field trips.