Decatur schools have low fail rate on new Milestones test

Decatur schools provided a bright spot as many districts struggled with new Milestones tests.

The old Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) and high school End of Course Tests “set some of the lowest expectations for student proficiency in the nation,” state Superintendent Richard Woods said in September when the statewide average scores were released.

For third-grade English, a core subject, Decatur Public Schools had a 7.9 percent failure rate. DeKalb County had the worst showing among major urban Atlanta districts with 43.7 percent failing. Atlanta Public Schools had a 41.3 percent failure rate in the same grade and subject. In Cobb, that number was 24.8 percent.