Tutoring in South Carolina
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in South Carolina, and we have no office there. If you want a person, this page says how we would look for one. If the question is which skill is missing, we can help with that part.
South Carolina's main test is SC READY, given in English language arts and math in grades 3 through 8 and in science in grades 4 and 6. It is untimed, and each district gives it during the last 20 days of its school year. In high school, certain courses end with a state exam under the End-of-Course Examination Program, known as EOCEP. Algebra 1, English 2 and Biology 1 are among them, and the exam counts for 20 percent of the final course grade. Juniors are offered one college entrance exam on a school day at no cost, with a choice among the SAT, the ACT and the Classic Learning Test. Taking it is optional.
What South Carolina tests, and when
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Math | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | SC READY Science | Not tested | SC READY Science | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
- SC READY (South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Assessments): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 8
- SC READY Science: science, grades 4 and 6
- Main testing window
- the last 20 days of each district's school year
- Standards
- South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Standards
- Paid for by the state
- SAT or ACT, grade 11, on a school day
- Exams tied to a course
- Algebra 1, English 2 and Biology 1 (EOCEP)
Under Read to Succeed, a third grader who scores Does Not Meet Expectations on the reading portion of SC READY must be retained unless a good cause exemption applies. Third grade reading is tested in the first five days of the window so that results come back in time for that decision.
Is there a graduation test in South Carolina?
No. There is no exit exam, but each End-of-Course Examination Program test counts for 20 percent of the final grade in its course.
Kolu finds the missing skill and goes back to it
It starts with a skill check, a short test that gets harder or easier depending on the last answer. The result is a map of the subject broken into skills with their prerequisites drawn in, each one marked as solid, still being learned, or a gap.
After that, each session is a handful of activities picked for that student, usually something due for review, a gap to repair and one new skill. When an answer is wrong, Kolu looks at which earlier skill the mistake points to and goes back to it. Here is what that looks like for a sixth grader who can't divide fractions.
The problem on the page
3/4 ÷ 2/5
Dividing fractions
Grade 6
Multiplying fractions
Grade 5 · rests on the one below
Equivalent fractions
Grade 4 · usually where it started
Multiplication facts
Grade 3
Kolu does not call a skill mastered after one right answer. That takes correct work on different kinds of problems on different days, and a skill that fades gets brought back.
Kolu is not test prep for SC READY. It has no bank of released questions. It teaches the skills the test draws on, and it will not do tonight's homework.
When to hire a person instead
Some students need a person, and software is the wrong purchase for them. That includes a child who shuts down when the work gets hard, a student with a learning disability who needs someone trained in it, and anyone with an exam in ten days.
Ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. A nearby college is the next place to look, since students there took these courses recently and usually charge less than an agency.
Whoever you hire, ask one question before the first session: how will you find out what my child doesn't know? If the answer is that they will go over the homework, keep looking.
Free for one subject, $15 a month for 5
Kolu is free for one subject at a time, with one full skill check every 30 days and up to 4 sessions a day. Plus is $15 a month, or $120 for a year, and covers 5 subjects at once with unlimited skill checks. A learner under 13 needs a parent or guardian to set up the account.