Gainesville-Hall CRT results improved

ATLANTA - This year's fourth-graders in the Gainesville and Hall County school systems scored well above last year on the math portion of state's Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRT).

There were improvements in other subjects in all three grade-levels tested.

There was no change in the English scores for the county's fourth-graders, but six percent fewer of Gainesville's met or exceeded the standard.

The fourth-grade results:

Reading: Gainesville - 73% meeting or exceeding the standard, one percent fewer than 2002. Hall County - 75%, one percent fewer than 2002.

English: Gainesville - 68%, six percent fewer than 2002. Hall County - 71%, no change.

Math: Gainesville - 70%, an increase of 12 percent over 2002. Hall County - 73%, up seven percent.

Sixth-grade results:

Reading: Gainesville - 76%, a four percent increase. Hall County - 82%, no change.

English: Gainesville - 61%, an increase of seven percent. Hall County - 68%, one percent better than 2002.

Math: Gainesville - 63% meeting or exceeding the standard, one percent fewer. Hall County - 75%, no change.

Eighth-graders:

Reading: Gainesville - 76%, five percent increase. Hall County - 80%, a one percent improvement.

English: Gainesville - 63%, eight percent better than 2002. Hall County - 73%, two percent better.

Math: Gainesville - 49%, five percent fewer. Hall County - 71%, a four percent increase.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Georgia's black and Hispanic students still lag well behind white students.

"The good news is everything improved, and that is really positive," state Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox told the paper. "What you see when you disaggregate (by race) is you're still dealing with an achievement gap."

The CRT was administered last spring.