Cobb County Grade 5 Writing Assessment Scores Maintain 2013 Levels

The Cobb County School District has released its test scores for the Spring 2014 5th Grade Writing Assessment and noted slight gains in the percentages of students who met or exceeded the standards set forth by the state.

According to data released by the school district, 8,061 students in Cobb County took the assessment in March, 2014. Of those, 84 percent met or exceeded the standard, compared to an 82 percent rate in 2013. The average score for Cobb’s fifth graders was 218.

The 5th Grade Writing Assessment is graded on a scale of 100-350, with students meeting the standard at scores of 200 to 249, and exceeding the standard at scores above 250.

Of 1,174 special education students who took the test, 58 percent met or exceeded the standard, compared to 54 percent in 2013. The average score for this group was 194.

English language learners lost some ground in 2014, with 51 percent of the 387 test takers unable to meet the standard, though they did earn an average score of 190. In 2013, only 47 percent of English language learners did not meet the standard.

The school district claims that new writing programs helped boost scores at several schools, including a 21.9 percent jump in the pass rate at Blackwell Elementary School in northeastern Cobb County.

Blackwell, Rocky Mount, Still, and Ford elementary schools all saw their average scores jump by at least 10 points from last year’s averages. 32 schools had scores that beat the state average of 214, and 26 of those schools beat the county’s average score of 218.

41 schools had meet-or-exceed rates better than the state average of 80 percent, while 31 of those schools beat the county’s meet-or-exceed rate of 84 percent.

Tritt Elementary School in East Cobb brought home both the highest average score and highest meet-or exceed rate; Tritt’s 163 students averaged a score of 247 and they all met or exceeded the state standards.

South Cobb’s Clay Elementary School had the lowest average score of 189, while Smyrna’s Green Acres Elementary School’s pass rate was the lowest in the county at 50.9 percent.

The complete school by school list can be found below.

2014 5GWA Testing Brief