Cherokee 8th Graders "Meet or Exceed" Writing Standards

The Cherokee County School District's performance on the 8th Grade Writing Assessment in 2013 continued the district's long track record of beating state and national standards on standardized testing.

This year, 92 percent of Cherokee's eighth graders met or exceeded the standards set by the state in the essay writing discipline. This is a one percent improvement over 2012's numbers, and is six percent above the state's 86 percent "meet or exceed" rate. 

A noted year-to-year improvement was made by Canton's Teasley Middle School, which saw its success rate jump from 78 to 85 percent between 2012 and 2013.

Students were given a persuasive or explanatory writing prompt, and expected to create a well thought out response that contains original ideas, strong organization, proper style, and adherence to conventions.

Essays that exceed standards are focused and effectively organized, with strong supporting ideas and clear sentences. Essays that meet the standard have a clear beginning, middle, and end, and may have an idea that is not related to the prompt.

"Our students' continuing improvement on this and other important assessments is a testament to their hard work and the dedication of our teachers, administrators, and parents," wrote Superintendent Dr. Frank R. Petruzeilo in a letter to principals, PTA presidents, and school councils.

"All of our students must master writing skills in order to be as successful as possible as they advance toward writing-focused exams such as the SAT and Advanced Placement tests, graduation and future accomplishments in higher education and the workplace."

The complete breakdown of middle school scores and how they compare to the state averages is as follows: