The majority of Fayette County students who took the 2021 Georgia Milestones Assessment scored at the “proficient or above” level, and topped the state in all 24 subject areas, despite a lower than normal participation testing rate due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fayette’s students scored in the top 10 percent in Georgia on all assessments except for fifth grade math and science (top 11 percent for both) and biology (top 14 percent). On 10 of the 24 subjects tested, Fayette scored within the top 5 percent.
Overall, 79 percent of Fayette’s students participated in the 2021 Georgia Milestones testing. Out of safety concerns for students and their families, the Georgia Department of Education did not require virtual students to come into school buildings last year for the sole purpose of taking the assessment if they were uncomfortable doing so. Because of this, participation was down from normal, both in Fayette County and statewide, where it is normally 99 percent.
The Georgia Milestones Assessment was designed to measure the performance of students in a typical educational environment, and in 2020-2021, rolling quarantines, rising case counts, and shifting instructional models impacted the educational experience for students in Fayette and throughout the state.
Therefore, the Georgia Department of Education has cautioned against making year-to-year comparisons. What the results do show is that for the percentage of students who took the tests, Fayette County students excelled in comparison to their peers statewide. — Article provided by the Fayette County School System.
