Most Alpharetta, Milton Students Pass Georgia's CRCT

Most students in grades 3 through 8 in Alpharetta and Milton had no trouble with the 2011 Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT), according to data released by the Ga. Department of Education today, June 6.

State law requires that students in third, fifth and eighth grade meet or exceed expectations on the CRCT in reading to be promoted. Fifth and eighth grade students must also meet or exceed expectations on the CRCT in mathematics.

CRCT scores released today reveal that 100 percent of third grade students at and met or exceeded the requirements for reading and English/Language Arts.

(Hover your mouse over the elementary school locations in the map accompanying this story to see the percentage of students in third grade who passed the reading and math sections of the CRCT.)

Summit Hill had the highest percentage of third grade students passing math, at 98.7 percent.

in Alpharetta, which has the highest number of lower income students in the city, had 94.4 percent of its third grader passing the reading section of the CRCT. But nearly one fifth of the students didn't pass the math section, with 80.8 percent either meeting or exceeding requirements.

The percentage of students receiving passing scores at the Cumming Street school was below 90 percent in everything but reading. (The school's fifth grade passing rate for social studies showed a large drop, with 62.3 percent of the students meeting or exceeding requirements.)

All Alpharetta and Milton elementary schools had more than 94 percent of their third grade students pass the reading section. More than 93 percent of all third graders in the 10 schools other than Manning Oaks passed the math section.

Middle School Students in Alpharetta-Milton Score High on CRCT

For the seven middle schools in Alpharetta and Milton–including two charter schools–the percentage of students in eighth grade who passed the reading sections was even higher, with at least 99.3 percent of students meeting or exceeding requirements.

All , and eighth graders passed the reading section. Success in the math section–required for eighth grade students to advance to the next  grade level­–wasn't as high, but with its 94.9 percent passing rate was the "low" scoring school.

A quick glance at the scores appears to show more emphasis placed on the reading and math sections of the test as more students pass those required portions of the CRCT than any other section. Fewer students pass the science and social studies sections, though for the most part in Alpharetta and Milton the difference is slight.

The official statewide results of the CRCT show a one-year improvement on 23 of the 30 content-area tests. There was no one-year change on five tests and a decrease on only two tests (grade 4 reading and grade 6 English/Language Arts).

For detailed information on all Fulton County elementary and middle school results for CRCT testing in grades 3 through 8–and every other Georgia county–visit this state Web site.

“I am encouraged that the CRCT results show many more of our students mastering a more rigorous curriculum,” said State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge in the department's news release. “The credit for these tremendous results goes back to the local level, where they have raised the bar for all students.”

Barge said the CRCT scores can't be used to compare with students from across the country. But he said the adoption of the Common Core State Standards and the subsequent Common Assessments will soon make that comparison possible.

2011 CRCT Report Highlights

• Reading, grade 8: Ninety-six (96) percent of students passed the reading CRCT, a one-year increase of one point and an increase of seven points since GPS implementation (2006)
• Mathematics, grade 8: The pass rate was 78 percent, an increase of four points in one year and 16 points since GPS implementation (2008).
• Science, grade 3: The percentage of students exceeding the standard increased six points in one year.