Dana Yao, executive director of the Education Oversight Committee, told members of the South Carolina House Education and Public Works subcommittee on Jan. 15 that the committee approves content standards and statewide assessments, issues school report cards and evaluates state-funded programs.

Yao said the committee''s annual school report cards are legislatively mandated and issued by Oct. 15 each year. She gave the subcommittee a data snapshot showing a 2024 on-time graduation rate of 85.4 percent and highlighted tools the EOC offers to analyze spending and performance, including a public dashboard at dashboardsc.sc.gov.

The EOC reviews state programs funded by the Education Improvement Act (EIA). Yao noted the committee evaluates the full-day 4-K program and reported that the EOC''s evaluations show that program "does work for 4 year olds." She described a recent evaluation of the EIA-funded rural recruitment incentives program, saying the state currently invests $7,600,000 in a menu of roughly 15 incentives districts can use to recruit teachers, including housing, mentoring, recruitment fairs and international teacher options.

The committee also examines course delivery modes and early findings that face-to-face instruction has produced stronger achievement outcomes than online or hybrid delivery.

On student preparedness, Yao showed a chart pairing the on-time graduation rate with measures of college and career readiness. She described college readiness measures such as ACT/SAT thresholds and completion of rigorous coursework (AP, IB, dual credit) and career readiness measures such as industry certifications and state career assessments.

Several committee members pressed for clarity on readiness and outcomes. Representative Bridal asked whether the displayed data meant about 30 percent of graduates were college- and career-ready; Yao and others discussed different interpretations of the visualizations. Yao cautioned that the EOC''s role is to measure and report and that local and state leaders must decide follow-up actions to increase credential attainment for graduates.

Yao flagged chronic absenteeism as a major issue. She said the EOC''s analysis shows a substantial portion of students were chronically absent in 2022''3 (missing roughly 10 percent of school days) and said the committee has completed focus groups with parents and students; results are still being compiled. The EOC has proposed a public awareness campaign and simple school practices, such as greeting returning students, to help reduce absenteeism.

Members asked about teacher turnover in rural districts and retention efforts. Yao said the EOC is tracking turnover and evaluating which rural incentives provide the best return on investment; she did not provide a statewide turnover percentage during the briefing and said the EOC would try to supply that number on request.

Yao closed by urging committee members to use the EOC dashboards and offered to provide slides and further data.

Questions and next steps raised by committee members included requests for: detailed rural turnover figures; the EOC''s parent-focus-group results on absenteeism; and follow-up briefings on retention strategies and cyclical review of the accountability system.