ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews South Carolina’s legal history of education adequacy and examines the relationship between school resources, student backgrounds, and academic achievement in the state. The study explores statewide data from four student cohorts in Grades 3 to 8 over four years, evaluating the relationship between student characteristics, school resources, and test scores.
The pivotal Abbeville v. South Carolina case, spanning over two decades, scrutinized the state’s ability to fulfill its constitutional duty to offer a “minimally adequate education,” particularly in poor rural districts. After initial dismissal and subsequent judicial favor, the case was overruled, sparking legislative reforms and debates on judicial power and the effect of spending on achievement.
Statistical analyses demonstrate the limited role of school resources in explaining variation in academic achievement in South Carolina. School resource standardized effects become statistically insignificant or very small (less than or equal to 0.03) when controlling for both measured and unmeasured student background characteristics, suggesting that improving traditional school resources may have limited effects on student achievement in South Carolina.
