PreACT

October 22, 2025

10th Grade

* PSAT/NMSQT or PreACT

Sign-up Deadline:

September 12, 2025

PreACT® assessments offer students an early experience with ACT test items, provides a predicted ACT test score, and offers a wealth of information to help students get the start they need to be college ready. Anchored on the ACT College and Career Readiness Standards, PreACT assessments help educators, students, and parents identify areas of academic strength and opportunity.

PSAT/NMSQT

October 15, 2025

8th, 10th*, 11th

*PSAT/NMSQT or PreACT

Sign-up Deadline:

September 12, 2025

Taking the PSAT/NMSQT® is a great way to find out how prepared you are for college and career. The PSAT/NMSQT is the qualifying test for entry to the National Merit® Scholarship Program (described in the second part of this guide). The test also connects you to College Board programs and services that can propel you to opportunities you’ve earned.

ACT & SAT

Fall:

ACT: October 8, 2025

SAT: October 16, 2025

Spring:

ACT: March 4, 2026

SAT: March 11, 2026

Fall: High School Seniors

Sign-up Deadline:

September 5, 2025

Spring: High School Juniors and Seniors

Sign-up Deadline:

November 14, 2025

Note: Seniors may only take one (ACT or SAT) during the school year

The SAT and the ACT are timed, multiple-choice examinations which measure a high school student’s readiness for college and provide colleges with one common data point that can be used to compare all applicants. For additional information about the SAT, please visit the College Board website. For additional information about The ACT, please visit the ACT website.

WIN

Fall:

October 27, 2025-November 7, 2025

Spring: March 23, 2025-April 17, 2025

Juniors: Wednesday- March 25, 2025

Fall: High School Seniors

Spring: High school Juniors and Seniors

Note: Seniors not CCR must take WIN

The South Carolina Career Ready Test is a career readiness test administered to all eleventh-grade students to measure the most common skills that employers define as foundational for career readiness. Students are assessed in four key areas: Soft Skills, Math, Reading, and Data.

Seal of Biliteracy

Fall: November 10, 2025-November 21, 2025

Spring: February 23, 2026-March 12, 2026

11th & 12th grade candidates

Fall

Sign-up Deadline:

October 17, 2025

Spring

Sign-up Deadline:

January 9, 2025

The SC Seal of Biliteracy is a nationally recognized credential granted by the South Carolina Department of Education certifying a students’ high proficiency in English and at least one other world language. The Seal is earned when the student has attained a minimum of a 3.0 ELA GPA and at least an intermediate mid-level of proficiency in a language other than English. The latter is assessed in their Junior and Senior year of high school through a state approved nationally recognized proficiency-based assessment.

EOCEP

Fall:

English II Writing- December 4, 2025

English II Reading- December 9, 2025

Biology I- December 10, 2025

U.S. History- December 11, 2025

Spring:

English II Writing- May 14, 2026

English II Reading- May 18, 2026

Biology I- May 19, 2026

U.S. History- May 20, 2026

Algebra I- May 21, 2026

English 2, Biology 1,

Algebra 1, and U.S. History

The End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) is a statewide assessment program of end-of-course tests for gateway courses awarded units of credit in English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The EOCEP encourages instruction in the specific standards for the courses, encourages student achievement, and documents the level of students’ mastery of the academic standards. Gateway courses in English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies will be defined by the State Board of Education. EOCEP examination scores count 20 percent in the calculation of the student’s final grade in gateway courses. Defined gateway courses currently include Algebra 1, Intermediate Algebra, Biology 1, English 2, and United States History and the Constitution, or courses with other names and activity codes in which the academic standards corresponding to these subjects are taught.

ACCESS for ELLs

January 21, 2026-March 6, 2026

K-12th ESOL

All students in grades K-12 who are determined to have limited English proficiency - based upon the completion of a Home Language Survey and the initial assessment of their English proficiency - must take ACCESS for ELLs® or Alternate ACCESS each spring. This includes those students whose parents have waived direct MLP services.

Climate Surveys

March 2, 2026- March 20, 2026

Parents, Teachers,

3rd-12th Students

The Education Accountability Act of 1998 specifies that, “school report cards should include information in such areas as…evaluations of the school by parents, teachers, and students.” Student, teacher, and parent/guardian opinion surveys have been designed to measure perceptions of three factors – Home and School Relations, School Learning Environments, and School Social and Physical Environments. Feedback received in these surveys provide valuable information to principals, teachers, parents, school improvement councils, and community groups in their efforts to identify areas for improvement.

SC Alternate Assessments

March 2, 2026 – April 17, 2026

3rd-12th

(meet eligibility criteria)

The SC Alternate Assessments are assessments for students with significant cognitive disabilities who are assessed against alternate achievement standards as they are unable to participate in the general assessment program even with appropriate accommodations.

Advanced Placement (AP)

May 4, 2026- May 15, 2026

AP Students

Advanced Placement (AP) gives students the chance to tackle college-level work while they are still in high school and earn college credit and placement.

James B. Edwards Civics Assessment

Last 2 weeks of each quarter

9th-12th

(enrolled in U.S. Government)

As part of the high school curriculum regarding the United States government required credit, students are required to take the civics test. See S.C. Code § 59-29-240.

NAEP

January 26, 2026-March 20, 2026

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what our nation’s students know and can do in subjects such as mathematics, reading, science, and writing. Stakeholders use NAEP results to assess progress and develop ways to improve education in the US. State-level results provide information about student achievement in South Carolina, while also allowing for comparisons between our state and other states, regions, and the nation.

ASVAB and ASVAB Career Exploration Program

The ASVAB is offered to high school students as part of the ASVAB Career Exploration Program. The program provides tools to help students learn more about career exploration and planning, in both the civilian and military worlds of work.