|
Subgroups Show Steady
Progress
More Cobb students passed the Social Studies portion of the
Georgia High School Graduation Test this year than last while
the percentage of students passing the other content tests
(English/Language Arts, Math, Science) remained the same. Over
the past five years, the percentage of proficient students in
Social Studies has risen from 91 percent to 95 percent (See
Table I).
The most significant gains in student achievement, however,
were in the percentages of students in subgroups who passed
the tests this year. The overall five-year trend in the
performance of these program groups is clearly upward. The
percentage of English Language Learner (ELL) test takers
passing Social Studies and Science tests this year rose by 14
and 13 percentage points, respectively (See
Table III C & D). Percentages in English/Language Arts and
Math had smaller increases (1 percent and 2 percent). A
similar pattern was seen for Students With Disabilities where
the number of students passing Social Studies increased 8
percent from last year. About 2 percent more Students With
Disabilities passed both English/Language Arts and Mathematics
tests this year (See Table III D).
While the performance of these students is not yet at the same
level as their regular program peers, District administrators
are hopeful that these changes signal a narrowing of the
achievement gap.
Overall, Cobb students topped state and RESA scores on the
Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) in all four
categories of the test. The District has maintained its high
passing rates in all four areas over the past five years and
has topped the metro and state averages in every category –
English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and
Science (See Table I).
Cobb’s strong student performance can be illustrated by the
rate at which they reached higher levels of performance on the
graduation test. To reach Pass Plus status, students must
attain a score that is higher than the minimum 500 scale score
needed to simply pass each section and earn a diploma. The
Pass Plus score varies in each test subject area, but is
typically about 30 points higher. In English/Language Arts, 84
percent of Cobb students reached the Pass Plus level compared
to just 78 percent in other metro districts and 76 percent
statewide; in Mathematics, 68 percent of Cobb students
attained the higher level, compared to just 59 percent in
other metro districts and 57 percent statewide (See
Table II).
“It seems that our approach to increasing student
achievement is getting results for the subgroups,” said
Superintendent Fred Sanderson. “We have some more work to do,
but these results are encouraging. Our district improvement
plan was developed to address their needs in addition to those
of regular students. We will continue to monitor student
learning and look forward to more improvement in the future.”
Three Cobb schools, Harrison, Pope, and Walton, had 100
percent of students pass both the English/Language Arts and
Mathematics tests. Four Cobb schools, Harrison, Lassiter,
Pope, and Walton, had more than 79 percent of students reach
the Pass Plus level of performance in English/Language Arts,
while 75 percent or more of students at Harrison, Kell,
Kennesaw Mountain, Lassiter, Pope, and Walton achieved Pass
Plus status in Mathematics. Two schools, Lassiter and Walton,
had 75 percent or more of their students reach Pass Plus in
Social Studies (see Table II).
As part of the statewide testing program, 11th grade
students are administered the GHSGT each spring. They are
tested in four subject areas — English/Language Arts,
Mathematics, Social Studies and Science — and each section
must be passed to earn a Georgia high school diploma. Scores
range from 400-600, with 500 as a passing score. Results for
the system, state, metro area (RESA– Regional Educational
Service Agencies) and individual schools are listed in Table
I.
The English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Social studies and
Science portions of the Georgia High School Graduation Test
were administered to all 11th graders in March. Students have
four opportunities to pass each section of the test before
graduation.
Download the release with data
tables in Adobe PDF format.
Released 5/14/2007
|
