ATLANTA - For the second year in a row, Georgia students performed better than the previous year on state standardized tests.
According to data released by the Georgia Department of Education on Wednesday, students improved scores in nearly every subject and grade level this spring on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests.
Eighth-grade math rose from 70 percent to 74 percent pass rate after plummeting in 2008. Seventh-grade social studies increased from 64 percent to 71 percent.
A few tests saw slight drops in the rate of students passing, including second-grade reading and first-grade math.
"These results provide further evidence that our teachers are doing a great job implementing the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) and they are to be commended for their hard work," state Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox said. "It also shows that when you raise expectations, Georgia students will rise up and meet that higher bar."
Even as student achievement increased in almost every subgroup, the achievement gap between minority students and white students continues to narrow under the GPS. The gap is also shrinking between regular program students and English Language Learners (ELL).
"For the most part, achievement is improving for all of our students, but our African-American students, Hispanic students and English Language Learners are making substantial progress each year under our new standards," Cox said. "There is still work to be done, but I am very pleased that our achievement gap continues to narrow."
The scores are part of what Georgia uses to calculate progress under federal No Child Left Behind standards.
(AccessNorthGa.com's Ken Stanford contributed to this story.)
Wednesday
October 9th, 2024
4:23PM
