While Fayette County middle and high school students nearly always score high on achievement (in the high 80s to high 90s) in test scores, the recent statewide growth scoring methodology that measures academic growth over a three-year period reflects a different story.
Results for Fayette’s middle and high schools in 2013, the most recent year available, published by the Ga. Dept. of Education (DOE) shows largely mid-range growth compared to schools statewide, as opposed to the customary high-level achievement Fayette students exhibit.
In charts at right above, Eng/LA = English/Language Arts; S.S. = Social Studies; ALC = American Literature and Composition; C. Alg. = Coordinate Algebra; Econ. = Economics; Biol. = biology; Hist = U.S. History; √ at least one area in “high growth range”; * = at least one area in “low growth range.”
Growth percentiles range from 1 to 99, with lower percentiles indicating lower academic growth and higher percentiles indicating higher academic growth. With Student Growth Percentiles (SGP) all students, regardless of their achievement level, have the opportunity to demonstrate all levels of growth, DOE said.
Of the growth percentiles for the county’s middle schools, the highest score was an 80 in coordinate algebra at Bennett’s Mill and a 79 at the former Fayette Middle. The lowest scores were a 41 in science and a 34 in social studies, both occurring at Booth Middle.
Of the growth percentiles for the county high schools, the highest score an 85 in economics at Whitewater and an 81 in coordinate algebra at McIntosh. The lowest scores were a 28 in biology at Sandy Creek (considered by the state to be in the range of “low growth”) and a 37 in American literature and composition at Fayette County High.
By way of example, DOE spokesman Matt Cardoza said a score of 60 means the student did better than 59 percent of Georgia students while the remaining 40 percent “grew better.”
DOE on its website considers that “low growth” falls into the 1-34 range, “typical growth” in the 35-65 range and “high growth” in the 66-99 range.
The accompanying chart is from the DOE website and shows data from a combination of all middle and high schools using components of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) End of Course Test (EOCT) components across all grade levels at each school and comparing growth to middle and high school students and schools across the state.
SGPs describe the amount of growth a student has demonstrated, relative to other students across Georgia with the same achievement history, according to DOE.
Composite data by school is not available at this time. It is only available by CRCT and EOCT test components.
Though not accessible to the general public, parents can contact the individual school to obtain their child’s specific growth scores.
Former Fayette Board of Education member May Kay Bacallao in a letter Nov. 5 discounted the validity of the tests. “The Georgia Student Growth Model (GSGM) does not measure what the average person thinks of when they hear the word ‘growth,’” she wrote.
“If the height of a plant was 3 inches last week and 5 inches this week, we would say that it grew 2 inches during the week,” Bacallao wrote.
“Let’s apply this to athletics. In a standing broad jump, a student jumps 36 inches one year, but can jump 40 inches the next year. The student’s growth in long jump ability is 4 inches.
“But that is not the way it works in Georgia. If we used the Georgia Student Growth Model, we would record the distance jumped during year 1 for every student in a given grade level for the entire state.
“We would compare all the distances jumped and put each individual student distance in order from least to greatest.
“We would divide the distances into four groups, with an equal number of students in each group and see where the student’s distance can be found, based on those four groups.
“Will they be in the top jumping group, the second place group, the third place group, or the lowest jumping group?
“Next year, we will give a different test because the standards are different every year” Bacallao wrote.
“In year 2, we will measure how many sit-ups the students can do in one minute. We will take all the scores, list them from least to greatest, and put them into four groups. Then we will go back and compare the student ranking from last year’s group with the student ranking from this year’s group. If the student ranking increases within their assigned group, the student will be awarded credit for ‘student growth,’” Bacallao wrote.
