On the state and local level, the percentage of students who passed South Carolina's exit exam on their first try has decreased, according to results released Tuesday by the S.C. Department of Education.

In Horry County Schools 81.3 percent of the district's second-year high school students passed both portions of the state's exit exam, called the High School Assessment Program, on their first attempt.

That is a 2.2 point decrease from 83.5 percent in 2008.

In Georgetown County, 74.3 percent of second-year students passed the English/language arts and math sections on their first attempt. In 2008, 78.7 percent of first-time test takers passed on their first try.

Students statewide did not fare much better, with 76.1 percent of S.C. 10th-graders passing both sections of the state's test. In 2008, the average passing rate was 80.8 percent, the state's highest ever.

The test results show there is a need to re-examine Horry County Schools' academic intervention programs, said Rick Maxey, executive director for Horry County Schools.

"Obviously, surpassing the state is good," Maxey said. "But it's an expectation for us, and we want to do better."

Each high school develops its own academic remediation program.

The district plans to aggregate the data to get a clearer understanding of what it means for each individual school and look at how programs are being implemented and then make recommendations on possible improvements.

"Obviously we weren't successful in preparing them," Maxey said. "I would say we need to examine what we are doing with our intervention programs."

But the news is not all bad for Horry County Schools.

"Over time when you look at our HSAP scores, we have been hovering around the high 80s," Maxey said. "I think we are doing a pretty good job. We can do better, and we want to do better."

Seven out of nine of the district's traditional high schools surpassed the state average on both parts of the test for the first time this year.

At Aynor High School, 90.7 percent of students passed the exam the first time, boost from 81.7 percent in 2008.

"We have to give credit to our teachers and staff," said curriculum specialist Kelly Johnson at Aynor High. "We identified the students with the greatest need, we taught the standards and prepared ahead of time."

At Aynor, all freshmen take yearlong 90-minute classes in math and English/language arts, versus only one semester at other schools.

The school also offers yearlong 45-minute classes in both subject areas to 10th-graders who may need extra tutoring.

Seven to eight weeks before the test, teachers also pull out students who may need extra help during elective course time to prep for the exam, Johnson said.

State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex said data and testing experts at his agency and in local school districts could not account for the sudden decrease after three consecutive years of improvement, according to a statement released by the S.C Department of Education.

"We'll have to wait a year and see if this is the beginning of a downward trend or just a random blip," Rex said.

One possible reason for the decline in scores may be recent budget cuts. Districts have faced budget cuts in five of the past 10 years, with about $600 million in the past two years, Rex said.

For Horry County Schools, Maxey said budget cuts did not affect remediation programs, and he did not think it was responsible for the decline.

Georgetown County School Superintendent Randy Dozier said, "I think the slight decline in Georgetown County School District scores definitely reflects the loss of much-needed programs and teachers that we continue to experience due to ongoing budget cuts."

With about $3 million in stimulus funding allocated to the district, Dozier said he expects better results. Georgetown County hired about 28 teachers and specialists to help boost reading and math skills and provide behavioral intervention, using the funds.

"Our students did well in some areas in spite of some huge external negatives," he said. "Two of our four schools scored above the state average, and our overall district average is less than two points below the state average."

Public school students must pass both sections of the HSAP to get a diploma.

Students are first given the test as sophomores. Those who do not have passing scores on their first attempt will have a chance this spring to retake the sections they did not pass.