By 2030, the S.C. Department of Education wants to get at least 75% of students performing at or above grade level in math.
The agency is spending millions to help get there.
South Carolina is the latest state to embrace a digital math platform called Zearn Math for kindergarten through eighth grade classrooms statewide.
The department plans to spend $20.8 million over the next five years through the state-funded Palmetto Math Project on the program, according to the request for proposal award.
The platform will offer students free access to more than 1,000 digital math lessons covering all K-8 math standards.
An education department press release said the Zearn platform will help support core instruction, intervention, tutoring and summer learning.
Zearn's platform is also aligned with state college and career-ready math standards, the department said.
Education Superintendent Ellen Weaver said in a statement her agency is committed to equipping teachers with the best tools available.
“At the heart of the Palmetto Math Project is a bold but simple goal: to ensure every South Carolina student builds a strong foundation in math so they can reach their full, God-given potential,” Weaver said.
The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a decline in math scores nationally.
In South Carolina, the department said math scores have improved. But overall scores still lag pre-pandemic levels of 45% in 2019.
On Tuesday, the department released 2024-25 SC READY data for students in grades 3-8.
The education department said almost 44% of students met or exceeded expectations in 2025 — higher than about 42% reported in 2024 and almost 41% in 2023.
This is the first time Zearn will be accessible statewide.
The department said several school districts used the platform during the pandemic, but many districts had to drop it after federal pandemic grants expired.
The Zearn program will not be a requirement but is a resource that can provide "just in time scaffolds and supports designed to help students achieve on-grade level math proficiency," the department said.
Meanwhile, only three districts — two in Anderson County and one in York County — have hit the education department's 2030 goal in English language arts, or ELA.
The department said students in Colleton, Fairfield and McCormick counties recorded an 11% to 14% growth in ELA score since last year — the highest jumps in the state.
Lee County students also reported 10% gains in math scores since last year, with Edgefield and McCormick counties showing gains as well.
And about two out of three students statewide, on average, met grade level performance in ELA, higher than in 2024.
Reporter Scott Morgan contributed to this report.
