PDF: CRCT release
Georgia's Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests in 2010 show student performance is rising and the achievement gap between whites and minorities closing in most grades and content areas, state officials said.
State Education Superintendent Kathy Cox credits the implementation of new Georgia Performance Standards, or GPS, starting in 2006 and setting higher expectations for students.
Statewide CRCT results released June 9 show one-year improvement in 25 of the 34 test areas, decreased performance in three areas and no change in six others.
Teachers have done an excellent job implementing the performance standards, and students are rising to the challenge of the more rigorous curriculum, Ms. Cox said in a news release.
Results also show the achievement gap between white and minority students is continuing to narrow.
"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," Ms. Cox said.
System, school results coming
The state will release system-level results no later than Wednesday, and individual schools will get their scores by July 8, officials said.
TEST HIGHLIGHTSState officials credit the new Georgia Performance Standards, the state's revamped curriculum, for gains in test scores.* Eighth-grade math: Pass rate, 74 percent, an increase of four points in one year and 12 points since implementation of Georgia Performance Standards in 2008.* Seventh-grade science: Pass rate, 80 percent, up four points in one year and 17 points since GPS implementation in 2006.* Fifth-grade reading: Pass rate, 90 percent, up two points in one year and nine points since GPS implementation in 2006.* Eighth-grade social studies: Pass rate, 70 percent, an increase of seven points in one year and 11 points since GPS implementation in 2008.Source: Georgia Department of Education
Some statewide report highlights include increased CRCT scores in eighth-grade math and social studies, seventh-grade science and fifth-grade reading.
Pass rates in reading show Georgia's third-grade English language learners narrowed the achievement gap by five points from last year. Fifth-graders in the same group on English language arts pass rates narrowed the gap by 16 points over the past five years.
Seventh-grade English language learners closed the gap by four points since last year in math and by nine points since GPS was implemented, officials said.
Catoosa County Superintendent Denia Reese anticipates similar results in the North Georgia system when local and system scores are released.
"Based on our past performance and unofficial preliminary calculations, I expect we will continue to meet or exceed state scores on most content area tests," Mrs. Reese said.
The recent addition of sixth- and seventh-grade social studies to the CRCT means all content areas have shifted from the former Quality Core Curriculum to the new GPS. Because the results of tests for those grades in 2008 were invalidated, revisions aligned the CRCT to the new curriculum, making the new tests require more higher-order thinking, officials said.
"We are holding our students to a higher standard so that, when they get their diploma, it will mean they are truly ready for the demands of the 21st century," Ms. Cox said.