U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has greenlighted two more Every Student Succeeds Act plans from Virginia and South Carolina. That brings the grand total of states with approved plans to 39, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

South Carolina is planning to consider science and social studies achievement, along with the more traditional math and science, in rating its schools. The state will also be looking at college- and career-readiness for high schools. South Carolina got a shout-out in a 50-state look at how states are using practices backed by research to fix low-performing schools by Results for America’s Evidence in Education Lab.

The Palmetto State has also developed a catalogue of state-approved, evidence-based interventions that schools will be required to choose from. And “transformation coaches” will help schools select and implement these interventions.

Meanwhile, in its plan submitted to the department last fall, Virginia said it will measure chronic absenteeism alongside test scores as a measure of school quality and student success. And the state plans to pair high-performing schools with struggling ones as a school improvement strategy.

Photo: Swikar Patel for Education Week