More than 350 S.C. Schools Recognized as Palmetto Gold and Silver Award Winners
Educational excellence is being celebrated statewide as 378 South Carolina schools earn Palmetto Gold and Silver honors. The South Carolina Department of Education announced the awards for the 2024-2025 school year, recognizing schools for strong academic performance.
Why It Matters
As an important part of the education accountability system in South Carolina, the Palmetto Gold and Silver awards program is designed to recognize and reward schools for attaining high levels of absolute performance, for attaining high rates of growth, and for making substantial progress in closing the achievement gap between disaggregated groups. The awards program was established by the Education Accountability Act (EAA) of 1998 Section 59-18-1100. The EAA was amended to include awards for closing the achievement gaps in 2008 (Act 282).
For Elementary and Middle Schools:
The criteria focus on two indicators: Academic Achievement and Student Progress.
Palmetto Gold:
1) Excellent Academic Achievement and Excellent Student Progress, or
2) Excellent Academic Achievement and Good Student Progress, or
3) Good Academic Achievement and Excellent Student Progress.
Palmetto Silver:
1) Average Academic Achievement and Excellent Student Progress, or
2) Good Academic Achievement and Good Student Progress, or
3) Excellent Academic Achievement and Average Student Progress.
For High Schools:
The accountability system does not measure student growth or academic progress at the high school level. Therefore, to reward schools for general performance, the Palmetto Gold and Silver Awards Program focuses on the following four indicators: Academic Achievement, Preparing for Success, Graduation Rate, and College/Career Readiness.
Palmetto Gold:
High schools that have an Excellent rating on 3 out of the 4 indicators and a minimum of Good on the fourth indicator would be eligible for the Palmetto Gold Award. A high school must also have an overall report card rating of Excellent or Good to earn a Palmetto Gold.
Palmetto Silver:
High schools that have a minimum rating of Good on 3 out of the 4 indicators and no rating lower than Average on the fourth indicator would be eligible for a Palmetto Silver Award. A high school must also have an overall report card rating of Average or above to meet the criteria.
What They’re Saying
"The Palmetto Gold and Silver awards recognize strong, measurable growth in student achievement and celebrate the hard work of educators and students alike. We congratulate these schools on striving for excellence and delivering impressive results for their students.”– State Superintendent Ellen Weaver.
The full list of 2024-2025 Palmetto Gold and Silver Award winners can be found here.
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