46th on Kids Count:

Uncompetitive in the National and World Economy

Kids Count indicators capture the causes and the consequences of the poverty and other disadvantaged conditions of too many children in South Carolina. This is why we rank 46th. In order for South Carolina to be competitive in the future world economy, our children must reach adulthood well-educated, hard-working, and responsible. But far too many children, especially those poor and disadvantaged, are not growing up with these essential strengths. Succeeding in school is the most critical preparation for and proof of readiness for productive adulthood. On both state and national tests, especially PACT and NAEP, over 30% of 8th grade students in South Carolina do not achieve minimum academic standards and 70% fall short of the proficient level deemed necessary for skilled participation in the international marketplace. In order for so many sub-standard performers to succeed, significant improvements are definitely needed in our schools. However, Kids Count data reminds us that remedying the short-comings of families, communities, and our society is also essential. What students bring with them to the school is just as important as how they are taught in the schools.

In order for poor and underachieving students to reach the state and national academic standards tested through PACT and NAEP, the family, community, and societal supports critical for child development must improve in concert with enhanced effectiveness of the schools. Kids Count data provides a simple measure of the substantial magnitude of the improvement required. If South Carolina reached the national average on the health, family, and economic indicators in Kids Count, young children in South Carolina would enjoy support comparable to the circumstances underlying national academic standards. Thus children in South Carolina would receive equal health, family, and economic support to grow up and develop successfully rather than putting the entire burden on superior academic instruction in the schools.

Percentage Reduction Required to Reach the U.S. Average

In order to level the playing field for reaching national standards, children's health, economic, family, and safety risks at birth would have to be reduced by about 20%. This would require enormous changes in the social and economic wellbeing of our state unlikely to happen in the next decade. Instead the burden of reaching national academic standards will fall first on parenting, childcare, and early education, and then on the schools, students, and their parents.

Is there sufficient social or political will to address the challenge of international competitiveness through successful development of our children? The culture of contemporary society is driven far more by consumerism and "affluenza" than by the traditional family, faith, and community values that make raising children a top priority. Ours is now an electronic culture funded by commercial interests whose priority is doing whatever necessary to motivate consumption. Unfortunately, there is no substantial social or political movement to change our culture of consumerism or to make child raising our primary social value.

So what can child advocates do? Advocates promote more and better services for children, such as the expansion of Medicaid coverage to 200% of poverty. The most essential, universal service for children is education. There are hundreds of education improvement strategies deserving attention. But the "macro" challenge of enabling the 30% of students, especially those disadvantaged or disabled, to reach standards cannot be addressed only through a myriad of "micro" improvements. There must be "macro" solutions to "macro" problems so that the micro efforts will be facilitated by larger, systemic changes. The accountability system of defined academic standards, standards-focused instruction, and testing is one such approach. South Carolina launched the latest version of its "macro" accountability effort through the Education Accountability Act just before the nation created No Child Left Behind to impose results-based accountability.

Unfortunately, standards, testing and related programmatic alignment alone will not enable students to reach academic standards. Issues of funding, educational infrastructure, teacher training, and other improvements must also be addressed. It seemed that the Abbeville case and Judge Cooper's ruling would precipitate a major review of our education system. Judge Cooper narrowed the constitutional obligation for a "minimally adequate" education to early childhood and the early years of school, apparently birth to/ through grade 3. So far all attention has gone to the 4K pre-school program for poor children. If Judge Cooper's remedy should address birth to/ through grade 3, then 180 days of 4K for 6 ½ hours per day will constitute only 3% of the waking hours of children before they face PACT in grade 3. What about the other 97%?

The Kids Count data provides a critical reminder that remedies far more comprehensive than 4K are needed to address the 97% of young children's lives outside of 4K. These other solutions are essential not only as our "minimally adequate constitutional obligation" but also as our "maximally compelling competitiveness remedy". Major early childhood and elementary school reform must be the appropriate response to Judge Cooper. Such reform must address not only grades PK-3 but also the health, family, childcare, and community solutions needed for children to come to school as healthy, eager, and ready to learn as their competitors across the nation and the world. Does Kids Count provide a number for this? Yes: a 20% overall improvement in the family, health, economic and education indicators for South Carolina in the Kids Count Data Book must constitute our "minimally adequate constitutional and competitiveness remedy".

South Carolina Kids Count has produced and posted on our website the data for each of the 46 counties regarding What It Would Take for the County to Reach the National Average. Nothing will change unless the leadership and citizens of each county and of the state act assertively to improve the family, health, education, and economic wellbeing of our children.

The South Carolina and other information in the 2007 Kids Count Databook can be found at http://www.kidscount.org/2007databook.

Contact: Kelly Graham/Director of Public Relations/Voices for SC's Children/803-256-4670 ext. 227 or e-mail: kgraham@scchildren.org.

For interviews with Dr. Baron Holmes, Director of South Carolina Kids Count (803-734-2291 or via email at baron.holmes@ors.sc.gov) or experts on foster care in your community, please contact Kelly Graham (803-256-4670, ext. 227; or via email at kgraham@scchildren.org).

46th on Kids Count: Uncompetitive in the National and World Economy

Overall Rank of South Carolina Counties

County-US Ratios for 2007 Kids Count Indicators

High-Lows for 2007 Data Book

What It Would Take to Improve South Carolina's Rankings

What It Would Take for the County to Reach the National Average

Annie E. Casey Foundation South Carolina Profile from 2007 National Databook (PDF)

Annie E. Casey Foundation 2007 Databook