Ledger-Enquirer analysis: Three-fourths of Muscogee County elementary schools below state average passing rate on Georgia Milestones tests

Three-fourths of the Muscogee County School District's elementary schools rank below the Georgia average in overall passing rate on the state's new and more rigorous standardized tests, according to the Ledger-Enquirer's analysis.

The 24 MCSD elementary schools below the state average on the Georgia Milestones tests are, in alphabetical order: Allen, Brewer, Davis, Dawson, Dimon, Dorothy Height, Downtown, Forrest Road, Fox, Gentian, Georgetown, Lonnie Jackson, Johnson, Key, Martin Luther King Jr., Midland, Reese Road, Rigdon Road, River Road, South Columbus, St. Marys Road, Waddell, Wesley Heights and Wynnton.

The eight MCSD elementary schools above the state average are, in alphabetical order: Blanchard, Britt David, Clubview, Double Churches, Eagle Ridge, Hannan, Mathews and North Columbus.

Hannan Academy is the only MCSD elementary school out of the eight above the state average that is a Title I school. Hannan contains the district's magnet program for gifted students.

Midland Academy is the only MCSD elementary school out of the 24 below the state average that isn't a Title I school.

Title I schools may receive extra federal funding if at least 35 percent of their students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The low-income rate among MCSD's Title I schools, however, is much higher. The MCSD Title I school with the lowest rate of eligible students is 68.5 percent, according to Tim Smith, the district's federal programs director.

The L-E's ranking is based on the combined results of the 12 Georgia Milestones tests for elementary schools (grades 3-5 in English language arts, math, science and social studies). The overall passing rate is defined as the percentage of students who scored among the top two of the four achievement levels, Distinguished Learner and Proficient Learner. The lowest two levels are Beginning Learner and Developing Learner.

• Beginning Learners haven’t demonstrated proficiency and need substantial academic support to be prepared for the next grade level or course and to be on track for college and career readiness.
• Developing Learners demonstrated partial proficiency and need additional academic support to ensure success in the next grade level or course and to be on track for college and career readiness.
• Proficient Learners demonstrated proficiency and are prepared for the next grade level or course and are on track for college and career readiness.
• Distinguished Learners demonstrated advanced proficiency and are well prepared for the next grade level or course and are prepared for college and career readiness.

The average overall passing rate for the state's elementary schools is 35 percent. MCSD's average overall passing rate for its 32 elementary schools is 25 percent. That includes the 90 percent for Britt David Magnet Academy, the district's only elementary school without an attendance zone. Britt David instead admits all of its students from throughout the county and screens them via an entrance exam.

Excluding the results from Britt David, the district's average overall passing rate for its elementary schools would be 23 percent. Britt David nearly doubled the overall passing rate of the second-ranked MCSD elementary school, Clubview at 51 percent. The lowest-ranked MCSD elementary school is Forrest Road at 5 percent.

The Georgia Department of Education released the Georgia Milestones scores for school districts and schools on Monday. Since then, the L-E has been analyzing the data and reporting the significant results. More stories are planned for this week.

The Georgia Milestones Assessment System is the state’s new set of accountability tests to measure how well public schools are teaching the mandated standards for grades 3-12 in English language arts, math, science and social students. The state’s previous exams were the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests, the End-of-Course Tests and the Georgia Writing Assessments. These were dropped last year in favor of the Georgia Milestones, which test students on the state’s more rigorous standards.

The Georgia Milestones comprise two batteries of tests:

• The End-of-Grade tests measure how well students in grades 3-8 have learned each content area.
• The End-of-Course tests measure how well students in grades 9-12 have learned eight identified courses: Ninth-Grade Literature & Composition, American Literature & Composition, Coordinate Algebra, Analytic Geometry, Biology, Physical Science, U.S. History and Economics.

The Georgia Milestones were administered for the first time this past spring, so there isn’t a data set to compare performance from previous years.

In addition to having a more rigorous curriculum, the state’s new accountability tests are tougher. The Georgia Milestones included open-ended questions in English language arts and math, requiring students to explain their answers. The assessment of writing is part of the English language arts test.

Georgia law requires students in grades 3, 5 and 8 to be at or above grade level (Proficient or Distinguished) in English language arts to be promoted to the next grade. Georgia law also requires fifth-graders and eighth-graders to be at least a Developing Learner in math to be promoted to the next grade. But because this was the first year of the state’s new tests, the Georgia Board of Education waived those requirements for the 2014-15 school year.

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter@MarkRiceLE.

COMING THIS WEEK

The L-E's analysis of MCSD's 2015 Georgia Milestones results for middle schools and high schools.

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 5:52 PM with the headline "Ledger-Enquirer analysis: Three-fourths of Muscogee County elementary schools below state average passing rate on Georgia Milestones tests ."