Contract expires this year and so, apparently, does PACT in South Carolina

Cherokee County students could be taking the state's Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test for the last time this spring.

The state Senate gave unanimous approval Thursday to a proposed bill requiring a new test for students in grades 3-8. The bill specifically states, "the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT) no longer meets the requirements" for a statewide test.

The state Board of Education, the Department of Education and the Education Oversight Committee would have to establish a new test for the 2008-2009 school year. The change comes as a 10- year state contract with the company that produces PACT expires this school year.

A new test is part of efforts by state lawmakers to revise the Education Accountability Act that was originally passed in 1998. The law resulted in annual report cards that grade schools on their test scores and track their improvement from year to year.

The bill will receive a routine third reading before being returned to the House of Representatives for approval.

State Sen. Wes Hayes (RYork) said he does not anticipate any major obstacles preventing the bill from making it to the governor's desk before the end of this legislative session. Hayes served as the chairman of the subcommittee that worked on the Education Accountability Act Reform Bill.

"This bill makes some significant changes to the accountability system," said Hayes in a news release Thursday. "Testing will not only measure how our schools and students are performing, but provide teachers the diagnostic feedback needed to help individual students improve."

Under the proposed bill, teachers would no longer have to prepare academic plans for students. The bill changes the designation given to underperforming schools on report cards from "unsatisfactory" to "schools at-risk."

A student in South Carolina would be evaluated similar to other states under the No Child Left Behind law. It requires all students nationally score "proficient" by 2014.

Cherokee County School Superintendent Dr. Bill James was out of the office Thursday afternoon and not available for comment. He currently chairs a superintendent committee with the 10-district Olde English education consortium that has reviewed drafts of the school accountability bill in recent months.