Georgia eighth-graders continued to show steady gains on the state's annual writing test, with 83 percent passing by meeting or exceeding standards, the state Department of Education reported Tuesday.
That's up from 79 percent last year and 75 percent in 2009, and it's directly on target with the state's goal for this year of an 83-percent, statewide passing rate, the results showed. In January, 119,761 eighth-graders took the most recent test.
The writing test has been mandatory for all of the state's eighth-graders for years but has assessed their skills against the Georgia Performance Standards since 2007. In some school systems, including Gwinnett, eighth-graders have to pass the test to be promoted to the ninth grade.
Results were not immediately available for school districts or individual schools, said Matt Cardoza, spokesman for the Department of Education. However, some districts had learned of their results and were touting their successes.
Fulton County had its eighth-grade passing rate jump from 87.8 percent in 2010 to 91 percent this year, and Superintendent Cindy Loe said students and teachers deserved credit.
“This achievement shows that our students and teachers have been working really hard to master the new language arts curriculum and improve their skills," Loe said.
Countywide, 22 of Fulton's 23 middle schools had passing rates of more than 80 percent, Loe said.
Eighth-graders in Gwinnett County and in Atlanta Public Schools also performed better on the test than they did in 2010, officials from those respective districts reported.
In Gwinnett, where 11,922 students took the test, the passing rate went from 91 percent in 2010 to 93 percent. Among the county's test-takers, 14 percent scored in the "exceeds" performance level, compared to 5 percent statewide, the school district reported.
Atlanta Public Schools reported that 83 percent of its eighth-graders passed the test this year, up from 79 percent.
“Consistent, incremental improvement over time constitutes positive proof that our reform programs implemented over the past decade are effective in escalating student academic performance,” Superintendent Beverly L. Hall said.
Among APS students, 3,093 eighth-graders took the test designed to assess students' writing abilities and to improve writing and writing instruction.
The administration of the test had to be rescheduled in some districts this year when schools were shut down because of snow.
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