COLUMBIA (WACH) -- South Carolina high school students are making the grade on their end of course exams.

The exam covers English I, Algebra I, Physical Science and U.S. History.

State Superintendent Jim Rex says more students made A's, B's and C's and that fewer students flunked the tests.

"Here we are going forward across the board.  All these scores are improving," Rex says.  "The achievement gap is narrowing and this is in spite of the fact that we've lost $700 million from the budget, this is in spite of the fact we have 4,000 fewer classroom teachers than we did two years ago."

The biggest improvement came in Algebra I where scores jumped six points statewide from 2009 to 2010.