State CRCT results improved this year

"This state needs to stop taking its teachers for granted," said Cox, whose last day is June 30. "The dedication these teachers have had to our students is incredible. There's obviously a lot of work to do. But Georgia is on the right path. The proof is in the numbers."

The state's Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests check students' knowledge against Georgia school curriculum for students in grades 1-8 in the subjects of reading, English/language arts and mathematics. Third- through eighth-graders are also tested in science and social studies.

Of 34 subject-specific tests with historical data -- meaning they've been taken multiple years and can be compared -- Georgia this year saw an increase in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards on 25 tests. It saw a decrease on three tests: grade 2 reading; grade 2 English/language arts; and grade 1 mathematics. There was no change from last year on six tests.

Among the biggest gains, 80 percent of the state's seventh-graders passed their science test, a four-point increase from last year and a 17-point jump from four years ago, when the state first tested its new science curriculum.

The percentage of eighth-graders passing their math test rose four points to 74, which is also 12 points greater from when the state first tested its new math curriculum in 2008. In social studies, eighth-graders increased their pass rate to 70 percent, a seven-point increase from last year and an 11-point jump from two years ago, when the new social studies curriculum was first tested.

That social studies performance is especially notable because these students, as sixth-graders, had their scores in that subject thrown out two years ago when 71 percent of them failed. Cox also threw out seventh-graders' scores in 2008 because 76 percent failed, and the social studies curriculum and tests were revamped. Passing rates this year for sixth- and seventh-graders were 64 percent and 71 percent, respectively.

The overall results come on top of gains made last year, especially in math and science. They also come as the state continues an audit of some schools for possible cheating on the tests last year. That audit is being run by a state agency separate from the education department. Cox made no mention of it Wednesday.

Students this spring took the tests while 191 Georgia schools in 34 systems were under investigation. The Governor's Office of Student Achievement released a report in February requesting those investigations because of unusual patterns of erasures on student answer sheets last spring.

The office is still reviewing reports it has received about those investigations. Thus far, at least six school systems, including Atlanta, are expected to refer nearly two dozen employees for possible testing violations, which could result in sanctions ranging from a reprimand to loss of license.

More could be referred, depending on the outcomes of the reports still being reviewed. The state last week also pledged to conduct similarly intensive testing audits every year as part of its application for the Obama administration's Race to the Top education reform program.

The CRCT results help determine whether students in grades three, five and eight are promoted. Students in those grades must pass reading and fifth and eighth-graders must also pass math to advance. Passing rates rose by between two to four points for those students in those subjects. CRCT scores also determine whether schools meet federal testing benchmarks.