Decatur students score above state average on Georgia Milestones

For the second straight year, Decatur City Schools students performed higher than the state’s average on the Georgia Milestones tests.

>>See how your school scored on state tests

More than two-thirds of the system’s third- through eighth-grade students scored above proficient on the tests, in their second year. In fifth-grade English/Language Arts, 77.5 percent of the students tested scored above proficient. An average of fewer than 10 percent of the system’s students scored in the Beginning Learner category, where students need additional academic support to be prepared for the next grade level.

Across the state, students showed improvement during 2016 Georgia Milestones testing in most subject areas, with the percentage of students achieving the "proficient learner" score increasing in 23 of the 32 tests.

Georgia Milestones was implemented during the 2014-2015 school year as a harder test to ensure the state’s students were better prepared for college and careers.

This was to be the first year where students could be held back for failing the tests. However, glitches during testing will allow schools to use their judgment in whether to hold a student back for low performance. The state Department of Education will still use the scores in grading school performance.

>>See how your school scored on state tests