SC education leaders look to focus on middle school math

SALUDA — South Carolina’s education leaders have a simple message for their state:

“Every student is a math student.”

They’re tired of the idea that some kids just aren’t good at math, or that it’s alright to excuse mediocrity in the subject as a symptom of a preference for reading or history.

And they’re hoping they can move the needle with a support initiative that went into full effect this school year, combining new standards with tutoring and classroom support for teachers and students at struggling schools.

The effort is focused on middle schools, where South Carolina students are performing worse than their peers in younger grades and other middle schoolers in the rest of the country. Are you smarter than a sixth grader? These questions, developed by the S.C. Department of Ed