Schools
Cherokee Students Boost CRCTs
Strong efforts from fifth-, seventh- and eighth-graders propel the school district's high scores.
students improved their scores from 2010 in 25 of the 30 content areas on the 2011 Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCTs), according to data the Georgia Department of Education released Wednesday.
The fifth-, seventh- and eighth-grade classes led the way, boosting their percentage meeting or exceeding standards in all five content areas.
Overall, Cherokee students topped state averages in all 30 of the content areas (five for each of six grades, third through eighth).
Find out what's happening in Canton-Sixeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“We are very excited,” Susan Padgett-Harrison, the director of student assessment for the Cherokee school system, told the Cherokee Tribune. “There are always subjects you are going to go up in and some you’ll go down in, but Cherokee consistently scores among the highest in the state.”
The CRCT tests students from third to eighth grades in reading, English/language arts, math, science and social studies. Students in third, fifth and eighth grade must meet or exceed grade requirements on the CRCT in reading to advance, according to state law. Fifth- and eighth-graders must also meet or exceed expectations on the CRCT in mathematics to proceed to the next grade.
Find out what's happening in Canton-Sixeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The eighth-grade class of Cherokee County had the highest content area improvement, from 84.4 percent meeting or exceeding the math standard in 2010 to 89.6 percent this year. The students easily topped the state average of 77.7 percent.
The eighth-graders also improved significantly in social studies, from 81.7 percent meeting or exceeding the standard to 85.1 percent.
The seventh-graders also raised their social studies scores, with 88.8 percent meeting or exceeding the standard this year, compared with 84.3 percent in 2010.
In science, 89.6 percent of seventh-graders met or exceeded the standard in 2010, but 92.4 percent did so this year. In math, 96 percent met or exceeded the state standards this year, up from 93.7 percent this year. The state math average was 89.4 percent.
Fifth-graders also boosted their math scores, from 87.7 percent meeting or exceeding the standard in 2010 to 92.4 percent this year. Social studies scores rose so that 83.7 percent met or exceeded the standard in 2011, compared with 80.1 percent last year. The state average for social studies this year was 71.3 percent.
Cherokee County’s third- and sixth-grade classes also performed well on the CRCTs. Each class recorded better scores on four of the five content areas compared with last year.
Statewide by Grade Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth No. Tested Reading 126,245 128,220 126,882 124,139 122,396 119,422 Reading: Mean Scale Score 840.11 836.07 833.9 837.68 830.02 837.53 Reading: % Did not meet the standard 9.1 12.1 9.5 6.1 9.1 4 Reading: % Meets the standard 50.8 50.1 56 57.1 67 58.9 Reading: % Exceeds the standard 40.1 37.8 34.5 36.8 23.9 37.1 Reading: % Met or Exceeded the standard 90.9 87.9 90.5 93.9 90.9 96 No. Tested English/ Language Arts 125,958 127,571 126,742 123,956 122,372 119,377 ELA: Mean Scale Score 836.53 836 838.88 835.61 840.81 842.64 ELA: % Did not meet the standard 10.9 12 7 8.8 6.9 7.2 ELA: % Meets the standard 54.5 53.8 57.2 59.8 52 50.6 ELA: % Exceeds the standard 34.7 34.2 35.8 31.4 41 42.2 ELA: % Met or Exceeded the standard 89.1 88 93 91.2 93.1 92.8 No. Tested Math 126,428 127,352 125,819 123,515 121,652 119,077 Math: Mean Scale Score 839.04 832.76 840.25 823.61 839.28 826.12 Math: % Did not meet the standard 18.8 18.9 13.4 23.6 10.6 22.3 Math: % Meets the standard 40.4 44.7 45.1 55.5 52.9 51.5 Math: % Exceeds the standard 40.8 36.4 41.5 21 36.4 26.1 Math: % Met or Exceeded the standard 81.2 81.1 86.6 76.4 89.4 77.7 No. Tested Science 128,324 129,781 129,621 125,618 124,022 121,205 Science: Mean Scale Score 831.26 836.06 831.34 818.86 836.95 817.35 Science: % Did not meet the standard 19.5 21 23.4 29.1 17.8 32.9 Science: % Meets the standard 44.9 39.8 39.7 54.1 44.2 47.5 Science: % Exceeds the standard 35.6 39.2 36.9 16.8 38 19.6 Science: % Met or Exceeded the standard 80.5 79 76.6 70.9 82.2 67.1 No. Tested Social Studies 127,944 129,294 129,225 125,225 123,598 120,787 Social Studies: Mean Scale Score 826.78 823.37 821.52 829.24 838.59 823.6 Social Studies: % Did not meet the standard 19 22.6 28.7 28.4 25.1 27.5 Social Studies: % Meets the standard 56.7 55.5 48.1 37.4 32.3 44.8 Social Studies: % Exceeds the standard 24.3 21.9 23.2 34.2 42.6 27.7 Social Studies: % Met or Exceeded the standard 81 77.4 71.3 71.6 74.9 72.5