Data Services & Testing

Beaufort County School District 2022-2023 Testing Calendar

Elementary School
ACCESS and Alternate ACCESS
Grade 2 Gifted and Talented Testing
Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Systems
Kindergarten Readiness Assessment
NWEA MAP Growth
SC Alternate Assessment Online
SC READY
SCPASS
Teaching Strategies GOLD (PK4)


Middle School
ACCESS and Alternate ACCESS
End-of-Course Examination Program
NWEA MAP Growth
PSAT/NMSQT
SC Alternate Assessment Online
SC READY
SCPASS


High School
ACCESS and Alternate ACCESS
College Entrance Exams
End-of-Course Examination Program
PreACT
PSAT/NMSQT
Ready 2 Work Career Readiness Assessment
SC Alternate Assessment Online

Who:  PK-4
What:  Observational Formative Assessment

PK-4  Teaching Strategies GOLD
Teaching Strategies GOLD® is an authentic, ongoing observational system for assessing children from birth through kindergarten. It helps teachers to observe children in the context of every day experiences, which is an effective way to learn what they know and can do. GOLD is based on 38 objectives for development and learning that include predictors of school success; teachers use them to focus their observations as they gather information to make classroom decisions. Beaufort County School District uses the ongoing observational system for our four year old Pre-Kindergarten students.  Parents receive three reports throughout the year indicating what their child can do.  

Information for Parents

Who:  Kindergarten
What: Social Foundations, Language/Literacy, Mathematics, and Physical Well-Being

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.  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.  Teachers collect KRA data on their students within the first 45 days of the school-year.

KRA Fact Sheet

Information for Parents

Who:  Grades K-12 English Language Learners
What:  English Proficiency Assessment

ACCESS is the English language proficiency assessment administered to limited English proficient students in grades K through 12 in order to comply with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 20 USC 6301 et seq. (2002).

Alternate ACCESS for ELLs® is an assessment of English language proficiency for students in grades 1 through 12 who are classified as English language learners (ELLs) and have significant cognitive disabilities that prevent their meaningful participation in the ACCESS for ELLs® assessment. This assessment will also be available for those students who meet the criteria for an alternate assessment.

For the 2020–21 school year, ACCESS for ELLs and Alternate ACCESS for ELLs will be administered through the WIDA Consortium.
WIDA ACCESS webpage
WIDA Alternate ACCESS webpage
ACCESS for ELLs Parent Handout (English)
ACCESS for ELLs Parent Handout (Spanish)

Who:  Grades K-9
What:  Reading and Math

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP)- Growth is a formative assessment system that measures what students know and informs teachers on what they are ready to learn next.  The dynamic system adjusts to each student's performance while they are being assessed.  Beaufort County School District administers MAP Growth to students in grade K-8 three times per year in the areas of reading and mathematics.  The data collected from the assessment assists teachers with developing meaningful instructional units specific to student needs.

NWEA MAP Growth Fact Sheet

Who:  Grade 2
What:  ELA and Math

In accordance with State Board of Education regulation 43-220, the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) provides an aptitude and an achievement assessment for the purpose of identifying students for the Gifted and Talented Program. Students participate in CogAT (aptitude) and Iowa Assessments (achievement) assessments during the fall of their 2nd grade year. Although the primary purpose of these assessments is to identify students for the Gifted and Talented programs, the student results can be useful to teachers as they examine their instructional practices and can help them identify teaching strategies for all students.

Student Identification

The identification of gifted and talented students is a multi-step process which consists of screening and referral, assessment of eligibility, and placement. The objective of the grade 2 testing program is to evaluate each student for the purpose of placement into a district Gifted and Talented program.

Dimension A

In accordance with State Board Regulation 43-220, students must meet the criteria for two out of the three dimensions outlined in this law. Dimension A (Reasoning Abilities) requires students to demonstrate high aptitude (93rd national age percentile) in one or more of these areas: verbal/linguistic, quantitative/mathematical, nonverbal, and/or a composite of the three. Scores on the CogAT may be used for this purpose.

Dimension B

Dimension B (High Achievement in Reading and/or Mathematical Areas) of the regulation requires that students demonstrate high achievement in reading and/or mathematical areas (94th national percentile and above) as measured by a nationally normed or statewide assessment. Scores on the Iowa Assessments (IA) may be used for this purpose.

The results from the administration of the aptitude (CogAT) and achievement (IA) tests are entered into the Gifted Identification Forms and Tasks (GIFT) software program, which identifies students who automatically qualify for a Gifted and Talented program. GIFT also identifies those students who may benefit from a secondary screening using the Performance Task Assessments (Dimension C).

Dimension C

Dimension C (Intellectual/Academic Performance) requires students to demonstrate a high degree of interest in and commitment to academic and/or intellectual pursuits or demonstrate intellectual characteristics such as curiosity/inquiry, reflection, persistence/tenacity in the face of challenge and creative productive thinking. One of the methods by which these characteristics may be demonstrated is with a score of sixteen on either the verbal or nonverbal component of the Performance Task Assessments (PTA) for grade 3 placement.

Information for Parents from the South Carolina Department of Education.

Who:  Grades 3-11 students with significant cognitive disabilities as determined by an IEP team
What:  ELA, Math, and Science

South Carolina-Alternate Assessment Online is an assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities who are assessed on the Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS) as they are unable to participate in the general assessment program even with appropriate accommodations.

The South Carolina SC-ALT Portal

Who:  Grades 3-8
What:  ELA and Math

The South Carolina College-and Career-Ready Assessments (SC READY) are statewide assessments 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 students with significant cognitive disabilities who qualify for the South Carolina Alternate Assessment (SC-Alt).

SC READY Information for Parents

Quick Links for Teachers

Who:  Grades 4, 6 (Science)
What:  Science and Social Studies

SCPASS is a statewide science and social studies assessment.  All students in grades 4 and 6 are required to take the SCPASS science and all students in grades 5 and 7 are required to take SCPASS social studies except those who qualify for the South Carolina Alternate Assessment (SC-Alt). For the 2020-2021 School Year, SCPASS Social Studies is not being funded by the South Carolina Legislature.  Students will not take SCPASS Social Studies during the 2020-2021 School Year.

SCPASS Information for Parents

Quick Links for Teachers

Who:  Students enrolled in specific Carnegie unit courses
What:  Algebra 1 or Intermediate Algebra, Biology 1, English 2, or U.S. History

The End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) is a statewide assessment program of end-of-course tests for gateway courses awarded units of credit in English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The EOCEP encourages instruction in the specific standards for the courses, encourages student achievement, and documents the level of students’ mastery of the academic standards.  Gateway courses in English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies will be defined by the State Board of Education. EOCEP examination scores count 20 percent in the calculation of the student’s final grade in gateway courses. Defined gateway courses currently include Algebra 1, Intermediate Algebra, Biology 1, English 2, and United States History and the Constitution.  

To meet federal accountability requirements, the EOCEP in English/language arts, mathematics, and science must be administered to all public school students, including those students as required by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) and by Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

To receive a South Carolina high school diploma, students are required to pass a high school credit course in science, and a high school credit course in United States history in which the state’s end of course examinations are administered. Currently these courses are Biology 1 (science) and United States History and the Constitution (social studies).

Information for Parents

Quick Link for Teachers

Who:  Grades 11 and 12
What:  ACT or SAT

School districts are required to offer eleventh grade students the option of taking the SAT® or the ACT®. The choice of which assessment to take is determined at the student level. Grade twelve students who did not participate in school-day testing during their eleventh grade year are eligible to test during their twelfth grade year.

The SAT is a timed multiple-choice examination consisting of the following tests: Reading, Writing and Language, Mathematics and the SAT Essay. 

The ACT is also a timed multiple-choice examination that includes the following tests: English, Reading, Math, Science, and Writing.

Information for Parents

Who:  Grades 11 & 12
What:  Career Readiness and Soft Skills Assessment

Ready to Work (R2W) is a career readiness assessment administered to all eleventh grade students to determine student achievement and soft skill development.  Academic achievement is measured in three key subjects:

• Applied Mathematics
• Locating Information
• Reading for Information

The Essential Soft Skills (ESS) assessment that provides information about a student’s skills in the following five areas:

• Cooperation with Others
• Resolving Conflicts and Negotiation
• Solving Problems and Making Decisions
• Observing Critically
• Taking Responsibility for Learning

Information for Parents

Who:  Optional for Grades 8, 9, 10, and 11
What:  Preliminary SAT

The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) is a standardized test administered by the College Board.  Students participating in the PSAT/NMSQT learn their academic strengths, are able to create personalized study plans for the SAT, and gain access to college scholarship opportunities.  For students in grade eight, the PSAT/NMSQT establishes a baseline measurement of a student’s college and career readiness as they enter high school.   In addition, students earning qualifying scores established by the South Carolina Department of Education are recognized as Junior Scholars.  For students in grade eleven, the PSAT/NMSQT is used as one qualifier for students to become a National Merit Scholar.

South Carolina Junior Scholars Program

National Merit Scholarship Program

Information for Parents

Who:  Grade 10
What:  Practice ACT

The PreACT is a multiple choice test designed for students in grade ten that familiarizes students with the ACT.   The PreACT mirrors the style of the ACT and assesses students in the areas of English/language arts, math, reading, and science and predicts student success on the ACT.  Students receive an individual score report that can be used to assist students with pinpointing refinement needs before taking the ACT.

Information for Parents