Ledger-Enquirer analysis: Three-fourths of Muscogee County middle schools below state average passing rate on Georgia Milestones tests
Three-fourths of the Muscogee County School District's middle 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.
It's the same portion of MCSD's elementary schools that scored below the state average, which the L-E reported Wednesday.
The nine MCSD middle schools below the state average on the Georgia Milestones tests are, in alphabetical order: Arnold, Baker, Double Churches, East Columbus, Eddy, Fort, Midland, Richards and Rothschild.
The three MCSD middle schools above the state average are, in alphabetical order: Aaron Cohn, Blackmon Road and Veterans Memorial.
Midland is the only MCSD middle school out of the nine below the state average that isn't a Title I school. The adjacent 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.
None of the three MCSD middle schools above the state average is a Title I school. Hannan Academy, which contains the district's magnet program for gifted students, is the only Title I school among the district's eight elementary schools above the state average.
The L-E's rankings are based on the combined results of the 12 Georgia Milestones tests across subjects for each of the elementary and middle schools (grades 3-8 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 and Proficient.
The state average for middle schools is 36 percent. MCSD's average is 25 percent. The overall passing rates on the Georgia Milestones tests among MCSD's middle schools range from as high as 55 percent at Blackmon Road to as low as 6 percent at Baker and Rothschild.
The results for the Georgia Milestones are expressed through four levels of achievement:
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.
No MCSD middle school has a majority of its students who scored at the Distinguished level in any subject. Blackmon Road has the most, with 17 percent. Blackmon Road also is the only MCSD middle school to be majority Proficient in all subjects. The only other MCSD middle school to be majority Proficient in any subject is Aaron Cohn, which achieved that level in math.
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.
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.
Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter@MarkRiceLE.
ONLINE ONLY
Click on this story at www.ledger-enquirer.com for the L-E's more detailed analysis of the Muscogee County School District middle schools' 2015 Georgia Milestones results, including a breakdown of each school's scores. The L-E already reported the MCSD elementary school scores and analysis, which also is on our website.
COMING THIS WEEK
Saturday: The L-E's analysis of MCSD's 2015 Georgia Milestones results for high schools.
Sunday: A closer look at the new category of Beginning Learner, along with an inside look at a pilot program, costing $630,000 over three years, that MCSD is using to improve reading and writing skills at its 13 lowest-achieving schools.
This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 7:35 PM with the headline "Ledger-Enquirer analysis: Three-fourths of Muscogee County middle schools below state average passing rate on Georgia Milestones tests."