Lee County students outperform peers in Milestones assessment scores

LEESBURG — The Lee County School System’s students continue to outperform both the Regional Educational Service Agency and the state of Georgia in all content areas on the Georgia Milestones Assessment. The Georgia Department of Education released mathematics results for the Georgia Milestones Assessment System recently, and Lee County students’ scores surpassed their Georgia peers across every grade level.

The Georgia Department of Education has students take Georgia Milestones End of Grade tests in grades 3-8, and Georgia Milestones End of Course tests in identified high school courses. The Georgia Milestones Assessment System is the state of Georgia’s testing assessment that meets the federal requirement for testing students in American Literature, Biology, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, and United States History in grades 3-12. Georgia Milestones assesses student learning across four levels of achievement: beginning learners, developing learners, proficient learners, and distinguished learners.

Due to the implementation of the new K-12 Mathematics Standards during the 2023-2024 school year, math assessment results  now being released. The outstanding performance from Lee County students is exceptional, and notable highlights and areas of strength from the mathematics results of the Georgia Milestones Assessment tests include:

● Elementary students scoring proficient and above outperformed their Georgia peers by 17 percentage points.

● Lee County students scoring proficient and higher on the Algebra assessment surpassed the Georgia state average by 28 percentage points.

● Ninth-grade Algebra students increased their proficient and above scores by 30 percentage points from the 2022-2023 school year.

In order to continue these incredible achievements and ensure all students demonstrate success, the Lee County School System will:

● Continue utilizing the student and teacher behaviors associated with the Standards for Mathematical Practice as a part of collaborative lesson planning to ensure all students are given opportunities to develop reasoning behaviors as they build an understanding of mathematics.

● Embed effective mathematics teaching practices (evidence-based instructional practices for mathematics) in all mathematics classrooms to promote student understanding and success.

Kelli Duke, the senior director of learning and leadership for grades 6-12, praised the efforts of Lee County students and staff.

“We are so pleased that our Georgia Milestones scores in the area of mathematics improved at almost every grade level,” Duke said. “These scores reflect the commitment of our teachers and students, and this achievement is a testament to the collaborative efforts that were made to enhance our math curriculum throughout the system.”

“The students of Lee County continue to outpace their state-peers,” Board of Education Chair Claire Lang said. “I am tremendously proud of our students and educators for their hard work and dedication. Their tenacity leads to consistent improvement in student performance. I am particularly pleased with the Georgia Milestones math scores given that the new K-12 math standards were implemented during the 2023-2024 school year.

“Solid foundations in math and science contribute to other fundamental skills, including problem-solving and critical thinking, which are both essential to future success in the classroom and work force. I look forward to continued improvements in the very near future.”

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