Dougherty County schools improve Milestones assessment scores

ALBANY — Many Dougherty County schools showed improvement in the latest round of Georgia Milestones testing, according to data released Tuesday by the Georgia Department of Education.

The end-of-grade results of the state-mandated assessment, which is now in its second year, were waived last year by GaDOE for consideration of student retention and promotion. State officials blamed the problem on technical glitches in the some districts’ testing systems, casting doubt on overall results.

Locally, the Dougherty County Board of Education waived last years EOG results but system officials still believe those results are an important tool in helping measure the student academic progress.

“The results from this last round of testing show that we have the ball rolling in the right direction,” Dougherty County School Superintendent Butch Mosely said. “We’ve just got to keep the momentum going and focus on those areas that need more work. Overall, our teachers and administrators are doing a great job getting our students prepared, and I am very proud of them.”

While DCSS staff is still sifting through the data from the latest Milestones release, initial indications seem to point to improving numbers.

For example, Robert Cross Middle Magnet School, one of the DCSS’ top performing schools, consistently performed higher than the state and region averages in nearly every grade-level and subject area — Albany High School, International Studies Elementary Charter School, Lake Park Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary Magnet School, Live Oak Elementary, Merry Acres Middle School, Sherwood Acres Elementary School and Westover Comprehensive High School each scored at or above the state or region average in various grade-levels and subject areas.

At the middle school level, students improved in nearly every school in nearly every grade and in every subject area.

Statewide, student scores for the 2016 administration of the Georgia Milestones Assessment System show increases in most subject areas. The percent of students achieving the “Proficient Learner” level and above increased for 23 of the 32 tests, with the highest gains seen in grade 5 science; grade 7 mathematics, science, and social studies; grade 8 English language arts, mathematics, and social studies; American Literature; Analytic Geometry; Biology; Physical Science; U.S. History; and Economics. Students who achieve “Proficient Learner” are considered to be on track to being college and career ready.

“Our initial assessment of the data shows that some of our schools exceeded our expectations, others performed as expected, while others are going to require additional support,” Ufot Inyang, the system’s associate superintendent for academic services, said. “We have seen impressive growth and performance in many of our classrooms in these new results over the previous year. The challenge is to ensure that we are seeing the same kind of performance in every classroom in the district.

“We are working hard to provide needed support in a variety of ways to all of our teachers so that we can achieve the same kind of impressive results we are seeing in some of our classrooms in virtually every classroom in the district,” Inyang said.

Georgia Milestones assesses student learning along four levels of achievement. These designations aim to shift the focus away from just test scores, instead capturing the progression of student learning. The achievement levels include:

• Beginning Learners do not yet demonstrate proficiency in the knowledge and skills necessary at this grade level/course of learning, as specified in Georgia’s content standards. The students need substantial academic support to be prepared for the next grade level or course and to be on track for college and career readiness.

• Developing Learners demonstrate partial proficiency in the knowledge and skills necessary at this grade level/course of learning, as specified by Georgia’s content standards. The students need additional academic support to ensure success in the next grade level or course and to be on track for college and career readiness.

• Proficient Learners demonstrate proficiency in the knowledge and skills necessary at this grade level/course of learning, as specified in Georgia’s content standards. The students are prepared for the next grade level or course and are on track for college and career readiness.

• Distinguished Learners demonstrate advanced proficiency in the knowledge and skills necessary at this grade level/course of learning, as specified in Georgia’s content standards. The students are well-prepared for the next grade level or course and are well-prepared for college and career readiness.

The higher bar for student proficiency set by Georgia Milestones is aimed at better preparing students for college and career and providing a more realistic picture of academic progress.

“I’m pleased to see our students’ performance trending upward in many key areas,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “Georgia’s students and teachers should be commended for these results – we asked them to clear a higher bar, and it is not a surprise to me that they delivered.”