Through collaborative and continuous improvement efforts, the Cobb County School District has a long history of high student performance. Annual testing and ongoing assessment results are used by the district to ensure that all students are learning the required curriculum and are nationally competitive.

Cobb County students consistently score high marks, a result that the District attributes to a concentrated focus on identifying specific areas for improvement and implementing changes in the ways teachers approach the instructional process. The District also continues to closely monitor the performance of special education students and those with limited English proficiency, as well as regular program students, in accordance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

As the first decade of the 21st century closes in on its halfway point, the Cobb County School District continues to explore new avenues of possibility in student assessment. Test data is becoming easier to compile, communicate, and act upon, so student needs can be diagnosed as quickly as possible. Some tests can even be administered online, with results available almost immediately. These advances all come with the mindset of providing excellent education for Cobb students, whose achievement is our primary objective.

The following are summaries of the testing performed in Cobb County during the 2003-04 school year, with some data reflecting the current 2004-05 school year. For a complete listing of test results, including results by specific schools, click here.

Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS)

The Iowa Tests of Basic Schools (ITBS) was administered in the fall of 2004 to grades three, five and eight. A norm-referenced test, the ITBS is designed to assess students’ skills in core subjects, including reading, language arts, math, social studies, science and information processing.

Cobb third graders had a composite score average of 73 percent, which means Cobb third graders scored equal to or better than 73 percent of all other third grade students who participated in the ITBS nationwide. Composite scores for fifth graders ranked in the 69th percentile nationally while eighth graders scored in the 61st percentile. The fifth and eighth grade scores reflect slight decreases from 2003, but the third grade score stayed the same.

Third graders performed best in language arts and math where they scored in the 72nd percentile. Highest scores for eighth grade students were also in language arts and math with percentile ranks of 61 in both. Fifth grade students scored in the 70th percentile in language arts, which was their highest score in the core subjects.

ITBS results are particularly helpful in identifying reading or math skills where students may need additional instruction. By administering the test in the fall, teachers then have time to work with students before spring CRCT testing begins.

Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT)

A state-developed test, the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) is a curriculum-based assessment that measures how well students are learning the Georgia Revised Quality Core Curriculum. District scores for the CRCT, administered in the spring of 2004, show that Cobb students in grades four, six and eight are learning the curriculum better than their peers across the state, with students surpassing state mean scores in all academic areas and at every grade level tested. The county also had a higher percentage of students meeting or exceeding the standards than other districts in Georgia.

Students were tested in the areas of Reading, English/Language Arts, and Mathematics, with results measured in three performance categories including “not meeting” standards, those “meeting” standards, and those “exceeding” the standards.

Cobb had a larger percentage of students meeting or exceeding the standards in all three academic areas than was typical across the state. For example, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the standards in Reading was 82 for fourth grade (three percent higher than the state), 86 for sixth grade (six percent higher), and 89 for eighth grade (five percent higher).

Georgia Middle Grades Writing Assessment (MGWA)

For the fourth consecutive year, more than 90 percent of Cobb County eighth graders scored in the highest two categories of the Middle Grades Writing Assessment (MGWA). In addition, Cobb County eighth graders scored higher than their counterparts across the state and in the metro area for the fifth straight year. Cobb students had an average scale score of 360, compared to an average score of 358 for students in the metro area and 357 statewide.

Administered in spring 2004, the MGWA measures five areas of effective writing including content/organization, style, sentence formation, usage and mechanics, and is scored within a range of 300 to 400. Students write a composition on an assigned topic and chose between narrative, expository or persuasive writing style.

Average scale scores throughout the state and metro area, including Cobb, dropped in 2004, but a closer look at the data shows that Cobb County students fared much better than their counterparts in the metro area and in Georgia. Ninety one percent of all Cobb eighth graders tested scored in either On Target or Exceeds Target, the highest two categories. In comparison, only 86 percent of students in the metro area and 85 percent statewide scored in these two categories. Both the metro and state percentages in these categories showed a more significant drop than Cobb’s when compared to 2003.

A score of 368 or higher falls under the “Exceeds Target” category, which is the highest possible category indicating a students’ superior performance on the test. Twenty percent of Cobb eighth graders scored in the Exceeds Target category, well above the 15 percent of students in the metro area and just 11 percent statewide who qualified for the highest category.