Schools rate average or better on state report card.

The majority of schools in South Carolina have received an average or better rating on new report cards released from the South Carolina Department of Education and the state Education Oversight Committee. The report cards are part of a merged state and federal accountability system. The 2018 report cards reflect school and district performance during the 2017-2018 school year and contain overall school ratings for the first time since 2014.

Of 664 elementary schools, 241 received an average rating while 99 were rated excellent, 136 good, 122 below average and 62 unsatisfactory. Four were not rated.

Of 327 middle schools, 118, were rated average, according to a news release. Fifty-one received an excellent rating while 63 were rated as good, 59 were below average and 30 were rated unsatisfactory. Six middle schools were not rated.

Seventy-four of 244 high schools received an average rating, while 36 were rated as excellent, 53 good, 46 below average and 18 unsatisfactory. Seventeen high schools were not rated.

Primary schools, career centers and schools with fewer than 20 students are not included in the report.

"The report cards unveiled today are the culmination of many years of South Carolina's hard work to design a rigorous accountability system that uses multiple measures to show the public the overall performance of our schools and districts," said State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman, in the...