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New test results show tiny Chickamauga City Schools outstripped its neighbors in most standardized test areas, while most North Georgia school districts performed near or above the 80th percentile mark in reading and math.
Released Wednesday, preliminary results from the 2010 Criterion-Reference Competency Tests show an average of 90 percent or more of North Georgia’s third- through eighth-graders met or exceeded benchmarks in 11 test categories.
Eighty percent or more hit the mark in 10 categories, and 70 percent or more met goals in seven categories. The lowest regional averages, 66 and 68, came in eighth-grade science and sixth-grade social studies among the 30 major test areas.
High scores for most systems appeared in eighth-grade reading, a trend reflected in results elsewhere in the state, results show.
CHICKAMAUGA
Chickamauga schools notched the highest overall scores in the region and exceeded the state average in all areas. Scores show 96 to 99 percent of third-, fifth-, and eighth-graders met or exceeded expectations in reading, and between 88 and 92 percent made the mark in math.
The three-school system in Chickamauga “works very hard to analyze student performance data to set specific goals,” spokeswoman Jenny Vowell said.
REGION 2010 CRCT SCORESPreliminary scores in third-, fifth-, and eighth-grade reading and math from Georgia’s 2010 Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests.System Reading MathCatoosa3rd 95.3 85.85th 92.2 80.88th 96.7 81.3Dade3rd 91.5 75.65th 88.4 76.28th 94.0 72.5Murray3rd 93.9 83.65th 93.6 89.78th 94.3 68.5Walker3rd 93.1 80.45th 92.1 81.08th 94.8 75.9Whitfield3rd 91.6 79.05th 90.6 73.98th 94.7 62.8Chickamauga3rd 96.5 88.45th 96.0 92.18th 99.1 83.9Dalton3rd 88.6 83.95th 89.2 86.68th 95.2 81.3Georgia3rd 90 805th 90 828th 95 74Source: Georgia 2010 Criterion-Referenced Competency Test
Chickamauga’s lowest mark for grades three to eight was 76.8 in eighth-grade science. Scores in other subject areas and grades ranged from the low- and mid-80s to a region high of 99.1, results show. The high score was in eighth-grade reading.
“Our teachers benchmark-test several times a year and this performance data is analyzed to ensure that the instruction is targeted to the specific needs of the students,” Ms. Vowell said.
On June 9, the Georgia Department of Education released statewide test results that showed one-year improvement in 25 of the 34 test areas, decreased performance in three test areas and no change in six others.
The tally of test areas counts two categories in sixth- and seventh-grade social studies that are new this year because results were invalidated for 2008. The CRCT comprises 36 content areas in grades one through eight and 30 in grades three through eight.
State Superintendent Kathy Cox credits the scores to the successful implementation of new Georgia Performance Standards, or GPS, that began in 2006 to set higher expectations. Students are rising to the challenge of the more rigorous curriculum, Ms. Cox said.
PERFORMANCE LEADERS
Scores in Catoosa, Murray and Walker counties met state averages in nearly every category. Walker and Murray failed to match state averages in only two of 30 categories and Catoosa missed in just three.
Walker’s scores ranged from a low of 69.1 percent meeting or exceeding benchmarks in eighth-grade science to a high of 94.8 in eighth-grade reading. Scores in other grades and subjects were in the 80s to mid-90s.
Murray students scored from a low of 68.5 percent in eighth-grade math to a high of 95.2 percent in sixth-grade reading. Like Walker, Murray’s scores otherwise ranged mostly in the 80s and mid-90s.
Catoosa’s performance ranged from a low of 71.4 percent in eighth-grade social studies to a high of 96.7 percent in eighth-grade reading.
Catoosa Schools Superintendent Denia Reese said the students have “typically met or exceeded state scores on most content area tests on the CRCT.”
“I am proud to see we are maintaining strong academic achievement compared to the state,” Mrs. Reese said.
Dade County scored near the bottom of the Northwest Georgia group, only matching or bettering the state average in three categories — third-grade science, sixth-grade reading and eighth-grade English language arts, records show.
But Dade’s scores in third, fifth, and eighth grades still ranged from 88 to 94 percent in reading and between 65 and 72 percent in math. The weakest performance was in social studies, where 50 percent or fewer students in grades five through eight met benchmarks.
DALTON, WHITFIELD
Whitfield officials said an average of 80 percent of students met or exceeded benchmarks, though scores fell short of state averages in many categories.
Whitfield matched or exceeded the state average in 18 categories. Dalton Public Schools matched or bettered the state average in 23 areas.
Dalton scores ranged from a low of 60.7 percent in sixth-grade social studies to a high of 94.7 in fifth-grade English language arts. Whitfield scores ranged from a low of 59.8 in eighth-grade science to a high of 94.7 in eighth-grade reading.
“Our staff members are beginning the process of reviewing test data to find areas where we need to improve instruction,” Whitfield Schools Superintendent Danny Hayes said.
As schools adopted Georgia Performance Standards, “classes that used to be taught only in high school are now required in middle school,” said Audrey Williams, executive director of assessment and accountability in county schools.
Whitfield officials noted that preliminary scores do not include retesting data that will boost scores in the final tally this fall.
Now, North Georgia school officials await the next wave of test data. State officials said the all-important individual school scores are due out by July 8.
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