Clarke County students improving on graduation tests

Public high school students in Clarke County did better overall on the Georgia High School Graduation Test than they did last year, according to results released Thursday by the Georgia Department of Education.

In English, science and social studies, the percentage of students who met or exceeded standards went up. In math, however, that number fell slightly from 2010. In no content area did Clarke County students perform better than the state average.

The writing assessment improved from 2009 to 2010, according to the report.

“Districtwide, there will continue to be a laser-like focus on student achievement, and these scores show areas that we will continue to target.,” said Superintendent Philip D. Lanoue.

The 2010 state average and the Clarke County scores follow.

English: 90% and 79%

Math: 91% and 83%

Science: 90% and 80%

Social Science: 78% and 62%

Writing Assessment (2009): 91% and 86%

The 2011 scores for the state and Clarke County students are:

English: 91% and 81%

Math: 84% and 77%

Science: 93% and 85%

Social Studies: 80% and 67%

Writing Assessment (2010): 96% and 92%

Passing the test is a requirement for getting a high school diploma. Students take the test in the 11^th grade, so it looks at content from grades 9 to 11. If someone doesn’t pass a part of the test initially, he or she has three additional chances to retake it.