Georgia Students Show Improvement on State Tests
Martha Dalton / WABE
Georgia students improved their overall performance this year on the state-issued Criterion Referenced Competency Test. Students in grades 3-8 are required to take the test each year.
Students take the CRCT in 5 subject areas. For each of those subjects, they’re scored in one of three categories: Meets Expectations, Does Not Meet Expectations, or Exceeds Expectations. State Superintendent John Barge highlighted some of this year’s increases.
“[The greatest gains were seen in] fifth grade math, with an increase of six percentage points meeting or exceeding; sixth grade social studies, a five percentage point gain; seventh grade social studies, a five percentage point gain; and eighth grade math, with a six percentage point increase,” Barge said.
However, Barge said, in the next two years, the U.S. Education Department will require states to raise the rigor and “cut scores,” or minimum scores, for state tests.
“While I’m pleased with the results, I know that as the new federal criteria comes into play in the 2014-2015 school year, these expectation is that we will see these numbers decrease,” he said.
Barge said during the upcoming school year, students will receive two sets of results, one calculated under the current cut scores and another under the new, more rigorous ones.
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