The article on Fayette County 2015 SAT scores stated that the scores dropped from 2014 to 2015. Nationally scores were down 7 points and Fayette County experienced a decrease of 24 points. What changed from 2013–2014 school year (SY) to 2014–2015 SY?
We need to examine these reported score changes in more detail: McIntosh High School increased 6 points while Fayette County H.S. decreased 66 points. Starr’s Mill H.S. decreased 14 points, Sandy Creek H.S. decreased 21 points and Whitewater H.S. decreased 8 points.
What changed in 2014–2015? Four of the county’s five high schools implemented a controversial, mandatory seven-period day for students, while one stayed with a more traditional six-period day with a student option of taking an additional “zero” period.
Those schools with seven periods had an approximate total of 30 hours less instruction per period per school year than the more traditional high school.
In other words, each class in the six-period day had 10 minutes more of instruction than those classes in the seven-period schools (10 min/day x 180 days/60 min/hr).
The article on ACT results was rather vague, stating only that the Fayette County Schools 2015 ACT results were unchanged or slightly lower (as much as 0.5 points – on ACT that can be 2 percent or more drop) than those of 2014. There was no breakdown by school so it can only be inferred that the county average score was down from 2014.
I’ll leave it to the reader to decide which school stayed with the six-period school day.
Mike De Lisle
Retired FCS teacher
Fayetteville, Ga.
