Students at many metro Atlanta schools fared well on the 2012 Criterion-Referenced Competency Test, though scores at some schools reflected continuing problems in math and science. The state released school-by-school results Thursday.
Overall, district officials seemed pleased with their schools' performance on the test, which measures students in grades three through eight in reading, English/language arts, math, science and social studies.
DeKalb County saw scores rise sharply in third- and fourth-grade reading, sixth-grade social studies and seventh-grade math. Other areas saw gains as well.
"These results reflect on the outstanding work in the classroom by our DCSD teachers and administrators, as well as the dedication of our students and parents," DeKalb County school superintendent Cheryl Atkinson said. "Together, we are setting new standards of excellence for our students, and they are responding positively."
The CRCT measures whether students failed to meet, met or exceeded standards in various subject areas.
Some metro Atlanta districts had schools where entire grade levels met or exceeded the standard in a particular subject area. That seldom happened, however, in math and science.
An AJC review of the data showed that many schools saw science or math scores drop in grades three, five and eight.
At Amana Academy, a Roswell charter school, all tested eighth-graders met or exceeded the standard in reading, math and social studies.
Fulton Science Academy Middle School, in the news recently because an audit raised questions about the charter school's management and the school district refused to extend its charter, saw all of its eighth-graders meet or exceed the standard in reading, English/language arts and social studies. It became a private school July 1.
Fifth-graders at Kittredge Magnet School in DeKalb County met or exceeded the standard in all subject areas.
Third-graders at Due East Elementary in Cobb County also had strong performances on the test, meeting or exceeding the standard in English/language arts and reading and scoring well in other subject areas, too.
In Atlanta Public Schools, Charles R. Drew Charter School's third-graders all met or exceeded the standard in reading and English/language arts and performed strongly in other subject areas.
Students at another APS school, Garden Hills Elementary, also had strong performances in all subject areas.
Garden Hills Principal Amy Alderman said she and her colleagues were disappointed with the scores from 2011 and pushed to help the students improve.
Many of the students who struggled, Alderman said, are those who were learning English as a second language.
The school pushed to help improve the students' language skills. "It really was a much more intense focus, focusing on the language of math," Alderman said.
Garden Hills students took advantage of Saturday learning hours, and parents were tutored so they could help their children.
"It gave our parents a lot more confidence about helping their children," Alderman said.
The percentage of Garden Hills third-graders who met or exceeded standards in math rose to 81.4 percent from 68.2 percent. The percentage of fifth-graders at the school who met or exceeded standards in math rose to 81.7 percent from 70.4 percent.
But just as students at some schools shined, others struggled.
Meadowview Elementary School in DeKalb County had problems in third and fifth grade, where large majorities of test takers failed to meet the standard in math, science and social studies.
More than 60 percent of eighth-graders at Mary McLeod Bethune Middle in DeKalb County failed to meet or exceed expectations in science. About 52 percent of eighth-graders at Patrick Henry High in Henry County failed to meet or exceed expectations in science.
With the federal government using the CRCT to help determine if a school would avoid sanctions by meeting annual yearly progress goals, some educators have cited the pressure to have students perform well as a reason cheating might occur.
A statewide investigation in 2009 found widespread cheating on the CRCT.
Georgia has joined 46 other states in moving to a new, "common core" of academic standards, and a new, national assessment could replace the CRCT in 2014 or 2015.
Staff researcher Kelly Guckian contributed to this article.
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