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

Three-fourths of the Muscogee County School District's high 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 seven high schools below the state average on the Georgia Milestones tests are, in alphabetical order: Carver, Early College Academy, Hardaway, Jordan, Kendrick, Shaw and Spencer.

The two high schools above the state average are Columbus and Northside.

The L-E reported earlier this week that three-fourths of the district's elementary schools (24 of 32) and middle schools (nine of 12) scored below the state average. So at each level of education throughout the system, three-fourths the schools (40 of 53) that took the Georgia Milestones tests in 2015 failed to beat the state average passing rate of proficient or above, which is 35 percent for elementary schools and 36 percent for middle schools and high schools. The Muscogee County School District's overall passing rates on the tests are 25 percent for elementary schools and middle schools and 31 percent for high schools.

Columbus High's rate of proficient or distinguished in about 80 percent across subjects on the Georgia Milestones is far ahead of the second-ranked Muscogee County high school, Northside. As the district's only high school without an attendance zone, Columbus

admits all of its students into the liberal arts magnet academy by screening them through an entrance exam.

Hardaway and Shaw are the only MCSD high schools out of the seven below the state average that aren't a Title I school.

No MCSD Title I high school scored above the state average.

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, said Tim Smith, the district's federal programs director.

The Georgia Milestones results consisted of scores for eight Georgia Milestones subject tests (ninth-grade literature, American literature, analytic geometry, coordinate algebra, biology, physical science, economics and U.S. history).

Columbus High and Early College Academy don't have any results reported for physical science because they instead offer physics, a more advanced course, and physics isn't among the Georgia Milestones tests.

Early College also doesn't have any reported results for American literature or biology because none of its students took those courses last school year. Susan Willard, the school's dean, said she expects 60-70 students to take the American literature test and 70-80 students to take the biology test next spring.

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 high school has a majority of its students who scored at the Distinguished level in any subject. Columbus High has the most, with 45 percent in geometry.

Columbus also is the only MCSD high school to be majority Proficient in all subjects.

The only other MCSD high school to be majority Proficient in any subject is Northside, which achieved that level in math and social studies.

Georgia law requires students in grades 3, 5 and 8 to attain 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.

In high school, the Georgia Milestones tests count as 20 percent of the student's final grade for that course.

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 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 COMING 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 20, 2015 at 11:19 PM with the headline "Ledger-Enquirer analysis: Three-fourths of Muscogee County high schools below state average on Georgia Milestones tests ."