Trickum 8th Graders in State Top 20 in Writing Test

Trickum Middle School eighth graders ranked 20th in the Georgia's Grade 8 State Writing Test, one of eight Gwinnett middle schools in the top 20.

More than 24 percent of Trickum Middle students scored at the highest performance level, ranking the school at 15th place for that.

Below is the press release from Gwinnett County Public Schools:

Traditionally, Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) 8th graders have excelled on the Grade 8 State Writing Test, ranking Gwinnett middle schools among the top in the state. That being the case it is not surprising that eight Gwinnett middle schools ranked in the state’s top 20 in terms of scale scores on this year’s test, with North Gwinnett MS taking the top spot in the state. (North Gwinnett MS-1st, Osborne MS-5th, Twin Rivers MS- 7th, Crews MS- 13th, Pinckneyville MS- 15th, McConnell MS- 16th, Couch MS- 19th, and Trickum MS- 20th.)

More than 12,500 Gwinnett students took the test in January of 2012. Overall, GCPS’ average passing rate remains high, holding steady at 93 percent. Of particular interest is the success of Gwinnett students in scoring at the highest performance level. Seventeen percent of Gwinnett students scored in the “Exceeds” performance level compared to seven percent statewide. Locally, this represents an increase of three percent over the previous year’s results in this highest performance level. Again, North Gwinnett MS was the top performer in the state with 36.6% of students scoring in the “Exceeds” performance level. All together seven Gwinnett middle schools made the state’s top-20 list in terms of students scoring at this highest level. They were: North Gwinnett MS- 1st with 36.6%, Osborne MS- 3rd with 34.3%, Pinckneyville MS- 6th with 30.1%, Twin Rivers MS- 9th with 28.9%, McConnell MS- 11th with 28.2%, Crews MS- 14th with 25.8%, Trickum MS- 15th with 24.1%, and Jones MS- 16th with 23.2%.

Gwinnett Students

2010

2011

2012

Asian

94%

95%

95%

Black

88%

92%

91%

Hispanic

83%

87%

90%

Native American

93%

98%

92%

Multi-Ethnic

92%

95%

96%

White

95%

96%

96%

Special Needs

62%

69%

70%

ELL (English Language Learners)

57%

66%

72%

All Students

91%

93%

93%

2011-12 GEORGIA GRADE 8 WRITING ASSESSMENT

All Students with Scorable Papers

% Performance Level

SCHOOL

N Counts

Mean Scale Score

Does Not Meet

Meets

 Exceeds

Bay Creek MS               

320

230

4

82

13

Berkmar MS                

309

223

10

78

12

Couch MS                   

335

237

2

76

22

Creekland MS               

744

231

5

77

18

Crews MS                   

411

239

1

73

26

Dacula MS                

558

228

7

80

13

Duluth MS                 

567

223

13

74

13

Five Forks MS              

379

229

4

83

12

GIVE East MS              

29

209

28

72

0

GIVE West MS               

43

204

37

63

0

Grace Snell MS             

394

215

18

77

5

Hull MS                    

771

235

4

75

21

Ivy Prep Academy

116

219

8

90

3

Jones MS                   

426

234

4

73

23

Lanier MS                  

398

226

7

82

11

Lilburn MS                 

434

221

6

91

4

McConnell MS               

504

237

4

68

28

Moore MS                   

258

217

10

85

5

North Gwinnett MS          

667

248

1

62

37

Osborne MS                 

525

244

2

64

34

Pinckneyville MS           

428

237

6

64

30

Radloff MS                 

530

217

13

80

7

Richards MS                

463

221

11

81

9

Shiloh MS                  

529

225

9

80

11

Snellville MS              

280

223

6

85

9

Summerour MS               

380

215

17

77

6

Sweetwater MS              

563

215

11

85

3

Trickum MS                 

660

237

3

73

24

Twin Rivers MS             

485

242

2

69

29

Gwinnett County Public Schools

12,506

229

7

76

17

State

123,071

216

18

75

7

This writing assessment represents essential literacy skill development in the four domains for ideas, organization, style, and conventions from either an expository or persuasive prompt.  Therefore, GCPS views the results as a reflection of academic rigor across the curriculum through integration of comprehension, creativity, and fluency of written expression, incorporating analysis, synthesis, and critical thinking.  These fundamental literacy skills are an essential part of an academic program of college and career readiness. The skills reflected in the content of the test are included in the GCPS Academic Knowledge and Skills curriculum.

In Gwinnett, the state writing test serves as a local promotion requirement for 8th grade students. They must “meet” or “exceed” state standards in order to earn promotion to 9th grade. In addition, Gwinnett 8th graders must pass five of their six courses—including language arts and math—and must meet state standards on the CRCT to earn promotion to 9th grade.

Students who did not pass this first administration of the 8th Grade Writing Test, but who are required to pass to earn promotion, have the opportunity to receive extra help in preparation for a retest. The results from the retest will be available prior to the beginning of summer school. If a student is not successful on the retest, he or she could attend summer school to improve their writing skills in preparation for another retest at the end of summer school.