Fulton Schools Make Gains On Georgia Milestones Tests

Scores from the annual Georgia Milestones Assessment System were released Thursday for students who were administered the exams during the 2016-17 school year, the Fulton County School System said.

Students in grades 3 through 8 take Milestones End-of-Grade exams every spring in select core subjects while high school students in specific courses take Milestones End-of-Course exams.

“This is valuable data to have as we enter a new school year," said Fulton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeff Rose. "It lets us know where we have excelled and where we need to focus our improvement efforts. We are particularly pleased to see marked improvement in our schools identified as chronically underperforming.”

District-Wide Performance

At the elementary and middle school level, End-of-Grade math scores showed a strong upward trend with increases reported in all grades except seventh grade. Language arts results were mixed with minimal increases and decreases reported among grade levels; however, 74 percent or more of the students at each grade scored in the Developing Learner category or above.

Science and social studies tests were only administered in grades 5 and 8 last spring. Science results showed no change in the level of students scoring at Proficient level in grade 5 and a slight increase in grade 8. Social studies scores showed a small increase in grade 5 and a marginal decrease in grade 8.

At the high school level, End-of-Course tests showed increases in six of the eight subjects. Fulton schools outperformed the state and local metro average in the percent of students in the Distinguished and Proficient categories in all subjects except physical science, and Fulton showed more growth in physical science, ninth grade literature, U.S. history and economics.

Of the 14 schools labeled as “chronically underperforming” by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, 10 showed an increase in the overall percentage of students scoring in the Developing Learner category or above: Hamilton E. Holmes Elementary School, Heritage Elementary School, Love T. Nolan Elementary School, Parklane Elementary School, Hapeville Charter Middle School, McNair Middle School, Renaissance Middle School, Woodland Middle School, Banneker High School and Tri-Cities High School.

“We’re pleased to see some notable increases among these schools, but we know there is still work to do," Rose added. "Our new Strategic Plan will address how we support schools that need additional strategies to continue their improvement. We also are continuing to place resources closer to these schools to better ensure success.”

School Highlights in End-of-Grade Tests

Sixteen schools showed 10 or more percentage point increases in the percent of students scoring at the Proficient Level in both language arts and math:

• Grade 3: Brookview Elementary School, Feldwood Elementary School, Lake Forest Elementary School and Northwood Elementary School.
• Grade 4: Alpharetta Elementary School, Amana Academy, Hapeville Elementary School, Hillside Elementary School, Main Street Academy, Mountain Park Elementary School, Ocee Elementary School, Palmetto Elementary School, Roswell North Elementary School, Stonewall Tell Elementary School and Evoline C. West Elementary School
• Grade 5: Hillside Elementary School

Five schools showed 10 or more percentage point increases in the percentage of students scoring Proficient in both science and social studies: Dunwoody Springs Elementary School, Lake Windward Elementary School, Main Street Academy, Summit Hill Elementary School and Woodland Elementary School.

Five schools showed increases in the percentage of students scoring Proficient in both Language Arts and math for all grades: Hillside Elementary School, Mountain Park Elementary School, A. Philip Randolph Elementary School, Roswell North Elementary School and Stonewall Tell Elementary School.

End-of-Grade results for Achievement Zone schools varied by grade with grades 3, 4, and 6 showing mostly increases and grade 5 showing majority increases in math and decreases in English/language arts. Grades 7 and 8 were mixed by subject.

• Brookview Elementary School showed increases in the percent of students scoring Proficient or Distinguished in math in all grades with a 17 percentage point increase in this subject in grade 3.
• Feldwood Elementary School showed double-digit increases in the percent of students scoring Proficient in both 3rd and 4th grade math.
• All Achievement Zone elementary schools showed gains in the percent of students scoring Proficient or Distinguished in 4th grade math. Feldwood Elementary and Love T. Nolan Elementary showed double-digit gains in this score group.
• Brookview Elementary and Feldwood Elementary showed double-digit gains in the percent of students scoring in the Proficient or Distinguished groups in 3rd grade English/language arts.
• All schools except one showed gains in the percent of students scoring Proficient or Distinguished in grade 4 English/language arts.
• McNair Middle School showed gains or remained the same in the percent of students scoring in the Proficient or Distinguished range in English/language arts, math, and social studies for all grades. McNair showed double-digit gains in 6th grade English/language arts.
• Woodland Middle School showed gains in the percent of students scoring in the Proficient or Distinguished range in English/language arts and math in grade 6 and gains in this score range for grade 8 in math, science, and social studies.

School Highlights in End-of-Course Tests

Language Arts:

• All schools showed increases in both language arts tests except for one.
• Four high schools have over 80 percent of their students scoring in the proficient category in both subjects: Alpharetta, Cambridge, Johns Creek and Northview.
• All middle schools have at least 80 percent of students scoring at the Developing Level or higher on the ninth grade literature and composition test. Ten middle schools have 100 percent of students scoring Proficient in this subject.
• Banneker showed double-digit increases in the percent Developing and above in ninth grade literature and composition, American literature and composition, and biology.

Math:

• Twelve middle schools have over 90 percent of the algebra test takers Proficient and five of those have 100 percent Proficient: Haynes Bridge, River Trail, Sandy Springs, Taylor Road and Webb Bridge.
• Four schools have over 70 percent of their Geometry students scoring in the Proficient category: Alpharetta, Cambridge, Johns Creek and Milton.

Science:

• Four schools made gains in both science courses in the percent of students in the Proficient category: Alpharetta, Cambridge, Creekside and McClarin.
• Twelve middle schools have over 90 percent of the physical science test takers Proficient while last year there were five schools in this group: Amana Academy, Autrey Mill, Crabapple, Elkins Pointe, Haynes Bridge, Holcomb Bridge, Hopewell, Northwestern, Ridgeview, River Trail, Taylor Road and Webb Bridge.
• Eight schools showed over 10 percentage gains in the Proficient category in physical science: AutreyMill, Bear Creek, Elkins Pointe, Holcomb Bridge, Ridgeview, River Trail, Sandy Springs middle schools and Alpharetta High School.

Social Studies:

• Thirteen schools made gains in the percent of students in the Proficient category in U.S. history.
• Five schools have more than 70 percent of their students in the Proficient category in U.S. history: Alpharetta, Cambridge, Chattahoochee, Johns Creek and Northview.
• Nine schools made gains or remained constant in the percent test takers Proficient in economics.

Launched in 2015 as a replacement to the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests and the Georgia High School Graduation Tests, Georgia Milestones is a series of exams given to students each spring to gauge proficiency of the course material taught that year.

At the elementary and middle school level, students take End-of-Grade tests in language arts, math, science and social studies while high school students take End-of-Course tests in Algebra, American Literature and Composition, biology, economics, geometry, ninth grade literature and composition, physical science and U.S. History.

Most advanced middle school students also take high school level courses such as ninth grade literature and composition, physical science and algebra. Each of the tests assesses student learning along four levels of performance – Beginning Learners (Level 1), Developing Learners (Level 2), Proficient Learners (Level 3), and Distinguished Learners (Level 4).

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