• Curriculum and Assessments      

    Aiken County Public Schools provides a high-quality curriculum fully aligned with South Carolina Academic Standards. This curriculum has been approved by the South Carolina Board of Education and adopted by the Aiken County Board of Education. Textbooks used in the classrooms are subject to a review by the Instructional Materials Advisory Council appointed by the State Board of Education with the recommendation of the South Carolina Superintendent of Education and then reviewed for adoption by a committee of teachers and instructional leaders.

    As part of our comprehensive, balanced assessment system, Aiken County Public Schools administers a variety of standardized assessments that are aligned with state standards to its students. In the fall, kindergarten students are administered the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA), which measures a child’s readiness for Kindergarten across multiple domains. As part of the state accountability system, SC Ready assessments in English Language Arts and Mathematics are administered each spring in grades three through eight. SC PASS is administered in Science in grades 4 and 6. End-of-Course assessments are administered to high school students taking: Algebra I, English II, U.S. History and the Constitution, and Biology I to measure student performance in mastering state academic content standards. High school students participate in standard college readiness exams including either the ACT or SAT as well as a Career Readiness assessment to ensure all students are college or career ready by the time they graduate.

    Students in grades K-12 also participate in formative assessments used to monitor achievement and growth. These assessments allow us to monitor progress towards college and career readiness levels and to identify students who may be in need of additional intervention and targeted supports. 

    For further information on our assessment programs, please visit the Office of Assessment and Accountability by clicking here.