Test scores offer encouragement, raise concerns

There are no negatives in the improved SAT scores for Muscogee County schools, as well as across the state of Georgia. The news that both Georgia and Muscogee high schools edged closer to the national average is especially encouraging given that much of the narrowing gap is attributable to improvement at the local and state levels, and not just to a sag in national averages. (It is also statistically significant that such a high percentage of Georgia students take the SAT relative to other states.)

As recently reported, seven of nine Muscogee County School District high schools saw increases in composite SAT scores, and the two schools whose scores dropped saw only single-digit decreases. The surge in some of the schools was pretty dramatic, especially a 69-point increase at Spencer, 60 at Jordan and 59 at Early College.

The administration of Superintendent David Lewis reacted publicly with predictable pleasure at the improvements, but also with acknowledgement of a larger perspective. "We are pleased with our continued composite score growth as evidenced in a majority of our high schools," MCSD assistant superintendent Rebecca Braaten wrote, adding that the MCSD remains "committed to closing the gap" between local scores and those of the state and nation.

The latter should raise a red flag: The national average SAT score dropped by 7 points to a 10-year low, even as Georgia's rose by 5 points, to 1450, and Muscogee's by 3 points, to 1432 -- both still significantly below the national average of 1490.

Even as test scores for high school students were trending upward, the news for younger students in Georgia was -- not unexpectedly -- rather bleak. The "trial run" for the new Georgia Milestones tests (they won't be official until next year) showed what state Superintendent Richard Woods expected: Previous tests had painted an inaccurately rosy picture.

According to results released by the Georgia Department of Education, only about one-third of Georgia students were rated proficient or better in most subjects. At least as alarming: More than one-fourth of students across all grades scored at the lowest level, "beginning learner," in English, math, science and social science. (The "beginning learner" composite score in science was 33 percent.)

Before the Milestones standard, Woods wrote in a news release, "Georgia had some of the lowest expectations in the nation for its students. Too many students were labeled as proficient when, in reality, they had not fully mastered the standards and needed additional support."

Unless those proficiency levels rise significantly, upbeat statistics like this year's improved SAT scores will be a distant memory. High schoolers don't ace a standardized test that demands knowledge of things they didn't learn in grade school.

Meanwhile, kudos to educators, administrators and, of course, students and parents who share credit for the improvements. Keep up the good work, because there's obviously a lot more of it to be done.

This story was originally published September 6, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Test scores offer encouragement, raise concerns."