VALDOSTA — On June 28, the Georgia Department of Education (DOE) released the district-wide 2012 results of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT), which have been administered each year to students in grades third through eighth.

Not only did the state of Georgia do better this year in English/Language Arts, Social Studies and Reading but the Valdosta City and Lowndes County School Systems both made significant strides in comparison to last year.



Valdosta City Schools

Results for the VCS system showed a one-year improvement over last year’s CRCT scores in the percentage of students meeting and exceeding 23 of 30 content-area tests.

“We want to see gains in our exceeds data,” said the director of teaching and learning for VCS, Scarlet Brown.

The city schools saw improvement in the area of reading, making significant gains in the percentage of students who exceeded minimum  requirements. For example, 27 percent of third graders exceeded minimum requirements in 2011, but 37 percent of fourth graders exceeded requirements this year. Fourth graders also saw a ten percent rise in the number of students who exceeded minimum requirements.

In the area of English/Language Arts, all grade levels were at or exceeding 90 percent of all students who met or exceeded minimum requirements.

There was also improvement in the area of Social Studies.

In 2011, only 11 percent of students exceeded the area’s minimum                 requirements, but this year that more than doubled to 26 percent. Grades sixth and eighth also saw growth in Social Studies as both only had 66 percent of students who met and exceeded requirements and that rose this year to 73 percent.

Area system gains from 2011 are as follows: Third graders are up in English/Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. Fourth graders are up in all areas. Fifth graders are up in Reading, English/Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. Sixth graders are up in all areas.

Seventh graders are up in Reading, English/Language Arts, Math and Science. Eighth graders are up in Reading, English/Language Arts, Science and Social Studies.

While all grade levels experienced growth, there are still improvements to be made in the areas of math and science. However, this is on point with the state-wide average that reflected flat or slightly decreased scores in those areas.



Lowndes County Schools

Scores for the LC school system proved to be strong overall. In Reading in all grade levels, more than 96 percent of students either met or exceeded the standard. Grades third through sixth scored in the top 10 percent of 180 school systems in reading.

In English/Language Arts in all grade levels, more than 95 percent of students met or exceeded standards. Fifth graders excelled in this area with 98.9 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards. Grades third and fifth scored in the top 10 percent of 180 schools.

In the area of Math, all grade levels met or exceeded standards at least 85 percent. Grades third and sixth scored in the top 10 percent of 180 schools.

Area system gains from 2011 are as follows: Third grade is up in Reading, English/Language Arts and Social Studies. Fourth graders are up in Reading and English/Language Arts. Fifth Graders are up in Reading, English/Language Arts and Math. Sixth graders are up in Reading and English/Language Arts. Seventh graders are up in Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies. Eighth graders are up in English/Language Arts, Science and Social Studies.

According to the LCS system, the scores do indicate that as a system, they need to focus more on Science and Social Studies. Academic coaches and teachers have been working this summer to analyze the new Common Core Standards and identify focus areas.



State Results

Overall, school systems in the state of Georgia showed a one-year improvement in the percentage of students meeting and exceeding 20 of 30 content-area tests and showed a one-year improvement in the percentage of students exceeding 24 of 30 content-area tests.

“The best news in the 2012 CRCT report is that more of our students are exceeding the standards,” said State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge in a DOE press release. “Teachers are doing a great job teaching the more rigorous Georgia Performance Standards and they are to be applauded for raising expectations for all students.”

Barge did point out that there are areas where there was no gain or a decrease. For example, there were decreased scores in four areas: Third grade Science (-2 percentage points), fourth grade Math (-1 percentage point), fifth grade Math (-3 percentage points), and eighth grade Math (-1 percentage point). There were no changes on six tests.

“While I am pleased to see an increase in the majority of the exams, I am concerned about those where we saw decreases or no change at all,” said Barge.

The CRCT is designed to measure how well students acquire the skills and knowledge as outlined by the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS).

The assessments yield information on academic achievement at the student, class, school, system and state levels. This information is used to diagnose individual strengths and weaknesses as related to the instruction of the GPS, and to gauge the quality of education throughout Georgia.

All students in grades third through eighth — in accordance to Georgia law, as amended by the A+ Education Reform Act of 2000 — are required to take the CRCT in the content areas of English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.

State law requires that students in third, fifth and eighth grade meet or exceed expectations on the CRCT in Reading in order to be promoted.

Fifth and eighth grade students must also meet of exceed expectations on the CRCT in Mathematics.