Daniel best in state among traditional public schools

COUNTY — Students in the School District of Pickens County improved their scores on the SAT in 2014, staying about the state average.

SDPC students earned an overall composite score of 1489, higher than the state average of 1429. The score was also higher than the SDPC’s score of 1483 last year.

Daniel High School increased from a score of 1525 in 2014 to a score of 1597 in 2014, and Pickens High School increased from 1445 to 1465.

Meanwhile, Liberty High School’s composite score declined to 1399 from a score of 1427, and Easley High School declined from 1480 to 1438.

Daniel High School’s score is also the highest among all traditional public high schools in the state.

“We’re pleased that the district’s overall scores have improved,” assistant superintendent of instructional services Sharon Huff said. “Each of our high schools has a team which focuses on improving performance on these college readiness tests, and they will be looking at a combination of curriculum and test-taking strategies to continue our improvement.”

Students’ scores declined slightly on the Advanced Placement exam, but the number of students taking the exam increased significantly.

Across the district, 694 students took the AP exam, up from 592 in 2013. A total of 1,158 AP exams were taken in the district this year, up from 966 in 2013.

Last year, 66.1 percent of students passed with a 3 or better on the exam, and this year 65 percent passed with a score of 3 or better.