Announcing New Science Subjects for Updated South Carolina State Standards

The South Carolina Department of Education recently updated their standards for science instruction and assessment, moving from the existing SCAS standards to a new SCCCR standard. This updated curriculum will begin to be reflected in assessments starting in the 2022-2023 school year, but educators can prepare now thanks to a new set of science subjects in USATestprep built around the updated SCCCR standard for Grades 3-12.

Assessment Schedule

While the new science SCCCR standards have been officially approved, assessments based on these new standards won’t begin until the 2022-2023 school year. This year, assessments will be based on the previous SCAS standards. 

Fortunately, USATestprep offers subscribers access to both the SCCCR and SCAS standards for the 2021-2022 school year, so that educators can both prepare their students to meet the SCAS standards for one final year while also preparing for the coming shift to SCCCR-based assessments. 

About SCCCR

While the updated science standards in South Carolina schools under the SCCCR are a new development, the process for implementing them was set in motion back in 2014. It was this year that Act 200 was ratified in South Carolina, requiring the state’s Department of Education to begin the process of developing new standards for core subjects. The standards development process was designed to develop “clear, rigorous, and coherent standards…that will prepare students for success in their intended career paths that will either lead directly to the workforce or further education in post-secondary institutions.

In the official introduction to the updated curriculum, the Board of Education shares the overarching goal of the SCCCR standards:

Students should engage in scientific and engineering practices as a means to learn about the specific topics identified for their grade levels and courses. It is critical that educators understand that the Science and Engineering Practices are not to be taught in isolation. There should not be a distinct “Inquiry” unit at the beginning of each school year. Rather, the practices need to be employed within the content for each grade level or course.

USATestprep: An Essential Resource For South Carolina Educators

USATestprep provides individualized learning for teachers and their students that helps them meet state standards, recover from learning loss, and even help beat the ‘COVID slide.’ 

You’ll find differentiated learning for all instructional levels, with new state-specific subjects being added on a regular basis to serve the full range of educational needs for students in grades K through 12. 

Want to learn more? Get started with USATestprep today.