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NEWS RELEASE
Department of Communications
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For Immediate Release
Contact: Charles White
Director
CCPS Communications
Telephone: (770) 472-8437
March 18, 2011
CCPS students show improvement on
Georgia Grade 8 Writing Assessment
County passing rate surpasses state average for the first time in recent memory
JONESBORO – Clayton County’s eighth-grade students have demonstrated a substantial improvement on the Georgia Grade 8 Writing Assessment. Overall, the district recorded an eight-percentage point increase in the number of students meeting or exceeding the standard. In 2010, 77 percent of students accomplished this feat. In 2011 that number grew to 85 percent. The results continue a five-year growth in the county’s performance on this assessment.
It marks the first time in recent memory that the percentage of Clayton County students meeting or exceeding the standard on the Grade 8 Writing Assessment was higher than the percentage of students across Georgia achieving the same. Georgia’s percentage of students meeting or exceeding stands at 82 percent, compared to Clayton County’s 85 percent. Twelve of the district’s middle schools surpassed the state’s rate.
Each of district’s 16 middle schools exhibited an increase in student performance on the assessment from 2010 to 2011. Leading the way with largest increase was Jonesboro Middle School at +23 percent (66 percent in 2010 as compared to 89 percent in 2011).
Also shown in additional key findings is that the district’s English Language Learners (ELL) surpassed the performances of ELL students across the state. Fifty-seven percent of Clayton County ELL students passed the assessment as compared to the state’s rate of 50 percent. The 2011 pass rate for this group is seven-percentage points higher than in 2010 and continues a trend of improvement from 2008.
Included in these findings was an impressive increase in the performance of the district’s middle grades students with special needs. Forty-eight (48) percent of Clayton County’s special education students scored in the “meets standards” category. This represents a nine-percentage point increase in the special education students passing the test compared to 2010. Also, the county’s rate is the same as the state’s rate.
“I am extremely pleased by the results of this year’s grade eight writing assessment,” said Dr. Edmond Heatley, Superintendent. “I commend our students for their hard work and their commitment to doing their best. I also commend our instructional staff for their effort and dedication to improving student academic achievement.”
“These results truly demonstrate that great things are happening in the classrooms of our school district,” he added.
About the assessment
All eighth grade students are required to take the Georgia Writing Assessment. This assessment is a test of students’ writing skills and consists of an evaluation of each student’s response to an assigned topic taken from a prompt bank representing two genres: expository and persuasive. Students are allowed approximately 100 minutes to write their essay. The writing assessment is administered in one day with a make-up given the following day.
Trained independent evaluators at the Georgia Center for Assessment score each student’s writing to determine if the student “does not meet standards”, “meets standards” or “exceeds standards”. Students’ writing is assessed in four domains: ideas, organization, style, and conventions.
See chart below:
Georgia
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79
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82
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+3
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Clayton
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77
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85
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+8
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Adamson#
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81
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84
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+3
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Babb#
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81
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89
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+8
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Elite Scholars#
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83
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97
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+14
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Forest Park#
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81
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90
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+9
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Jonesboro#
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66
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89
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+23
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Kendrick#
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74
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84
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+10
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Lovejoy
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68
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81
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+13
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Morrow#
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81
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89
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+8
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Mundy's Mill#
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72
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86
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+14
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North Clayton
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77
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79
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+2
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Pointe South
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73
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82
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+9
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Rex Mill#
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82
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85
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+3
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Riverdale
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79
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81
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+2
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Roberts#
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72
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86
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+14
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Sequoyah#
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81
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85
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+4
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White K-8 Academy#
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*
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84
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*
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* - Did not test in 2010
# - Meets/Exceeds Standards results higher than state average
-30-