The Office of Testing and Accountability provides multi-faceted support to Berkeley County School District as a whole and to its 48 schools individually. Inherent in each facet of this department’s responsibility is an expectation for legal compliance, ethical behavior, accuracy, and unbiased reporting.

As the name implies, support is provided by the Office of Testing and Accountability for execution of various national, state, and local assessments. In particular, this office is responsible for the execution of state-mandated testing programs, district achievement and aptitude tests for placement of academically gifted students, and federally-required assessment of English learners.

In its role as the “accountability arm” of the district, the Office of Testing and Accountability is responsible for the collection, analyses, dissemination and reporting of data used for federal and state accountability.

Assessments are used for many purposes and are considered an integral part of teaching and learning. When results are used as intended, they provide information about whether teachers are teaching what they think they are teaching, whether students are learning what they should be learning, the pace at which learning is occurring, and specific areas of challenge or exceptionality for students. Additionally, assessments inform grading and placement decisions, and often inform educators about deficiencies in the curriculum.

A variety of assessments (tests) are used to formatively and summatively assess student progress in Berkeley County School District, many of which are state-mandated. The Office of Testing and Accountability coordinates the logistics, training and communication of centralized formative and summative assessments with the following goals in mind:

• To provide accurate and timely information regarding testing purposes, procedures, and results;

• To manage and ensure legal compliance in federal, state and district testing initiatives;

• To provide guidance on the appropriate use of assessment results for accountability and school improvement;

• To support the progression of learning;

• To provide data for decision-making; and

• To develop, monitor and evaluate the district’s Pre-K through Grade 12 assessment strategy.

Accommodations that are used in statewide assessments must be the same ones as the student uses in typical classroom instruction and assessment. Although the IEP team has the authority to determine what, if any, accommodations are needed in order for a student with a disability to participate in statewide and district-wide assessments, state and local agencies have the authority to determine how test results are reported and used. Some instructional accommodations may not be appropriate for standardized assessments as they do change the construct assessed. The state or local agencies may limit the use of test scores if certain accommodations are included. Additional information can be found on the SCDE Accommodations and Customized Forms website.

No Statutory provision exists for parents to opt their children out of testing. We are required by state and federal laws to administer the tests to all students. Students are expected to attend and behave in accordance with school policies. We know parents only want what is best for their children, including making sure their students are college- and career-ready. Families will receive assessment reports providing valuable information on whether students are on track and in which areas they need support or enrichment.