Schools
Oconee Students Perform Well on CRCT
The school district looks to improve eighth grade performance across the board and to boost social studies scores in all grade levels.
Oconee County students have again excelled on Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests and performed well above the , according to data recently released by the Georgia Department of Education.
Students in grades three through eight are tested each year in reading, English/language arts, math, science and social studies.
In an interview Friday, John Jackson, Superintendent of Oconee County Schools, said he is pleased with the overall results. Since nearly 9o percent or more of Oconee students meet or exceed standards each year, school officials are most concerned with the percentage of students exceeding standards.
Find out what's happening in Oconeefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Here are just a few of the highlights from this year's district results, according to Jackson.
- Highest mean scale score in 3rd, 5th, and 7th grade science and 4th grade reading.
- 6th grade results "extremely good" in all subject areas.
- Second highest mean scale score in 7th grade math and 5th grade reading.
As for areas that can be strengthened, Jackson said social studies in all grades could use a boost, though scores were still much higher than state averages.
Find out what's happening in Oconeefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"Social studies usually takes a back seat because it is not an AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) requirement," he said. "It needs to be integrated in reading or language arts. We'll continue to find ways to carve out time for social studies."
Across the board in the eighth grade, Oconee students should be able to score higher than they did, he said. Plans are in the works to break down subject matter into sub tests in order to improve performance, Jackson said.
State law mandates that third-graders, fifth-graders, and eighth-graders pass the tests in certain subject areas in order to be promoted to the next grade level. Students who did not meet standards were retested before the end of the school year after receiving additional concentrated instruction in May, Jackson said, and a "good number" passed on the second try. Those that failed on the second attempt met in conferences with parents, teachers, and principals to determine whether the student would be promoted, he explained. Those conferences wrapped up a few weeks ago.
Percentage of Oconee County students who exceeded standards on the 2011 CRCT in the following subject areas:
Grade Level ReadingEnglish
Language Arts
Math ScienceSocial Studies
3rd 63 54.8 65.3 61.8 42.9 4th 64.1 54.8 58.6 63 48.6 5th 61.6 63 70.9 75.5 46 6th 60.4 48.9 43.3 38.4 61.4 7th 43.6 62.8 66.3 65.9 67.8 8th 56.7 64 43.3 36.1 45.2
Percentage of Oconee County students who met or exceeded standards on the 2011 CRCT in the following subject areas:
Grade Level ReadingEnglish
Language Arts
Math Science Social Studies 3rd97.5 96.8 91.2 95.8
94.3 4th
98.2 98.4 96.2 95.4 94.6 5th
97.5 98.5 96.7 95.1 91.3 6th
98.5 97.7 94.8 91.6 92 7th
97.5 98.9 98.3 96.9 92.3 8th
99.2 97.9 90.7 87.9 87.5
Percentage of average of all Georgia students who met or exceeded standards on the 2011 CRCT in the following subject areas:
Grade Level ReadingEnglish
Language Arts
Math Science Social Studies 3rd 90.9 89.1 81.2 80.5 81 4th 87.9 88 81.1 79 77.4 5th 90.5 93 86.6 76.6 71.3 6th 93.9 91.2 76.4 70.9 71.6 7th 90.0 93.1 89.4 82.2 74.9 8th 96 92.8 77.7 67.1 72.5Source for tables: Georgia Department of Education.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
