Bibb County schools’ recent Milestones scores showing ‘positive momentum,’ closing gaps
New results from Georgia Milestones tests show that the Bibb County School District saw steady academic progress over a three-year period, according to a news release issued Friday.
Macon students’ overall scores maintained or demonstrated improvement in ELA, science and social studies. The percentage of Bibb students reading on or above grade level has continued to increase since 2021, with key grade levels’ End of Grade ELA scores showing double-digit gains, school officials said.
Despite a rise in statewide test scores since the COVID-19 pandemic, data reveal that Macon-Bibb still has areas in need of improvement.
In Bibb County, the percentage of fifth-graders proficient in English language arts for the 2023-2024 school year is 24.8%, up nearly 4% from the previous year. The state percentage of fifth-graders proficient in ELA is 34.8%, according to the Georgia Department of Education.
Similarly, while the district’s English proficiency for third-graders grew by 0.7% this year, reaching 17.2%, it is still lower than the state’s 24.8%.
The “percentage of proficient learners” represents the students who are considered to be on track to becoming college or career-ready, according to the GDOE’s website.
“I am excited to kick off our new school year with this evidence of positive momentum,” Superintendent Dan Sims said in a news release. “While there is still work to be done, I have seen firsthand how dedicated our educators are, and I know we will continue to be successful in closing the gaps with the state.”
Students take Georgia Milestones End of Grade (EOG) tests in grades 3-8, and Georgia Milestones End of Course (EOC) tests in identified high school courses. The tests measure how proficient students are in a range of subjects.
Students are assessed in four levels of achievement: beginning learners, developing learners, proficient learners, and distinguished learners.
Bibb County’s third, fifth and eighth graders scoring in the developing learner and above categories for ELA increased by 9 to 13 percentage points since 2021, school officials said.
But 61% of the county’s fourth graders read below grade level.
A closer look at individual school summaries finds that seven elementary schools in Bibb County outperformed the state in terms of the percentage of kids achieving grade level or higher Lexile reading status: Alexander II Magnet, Sonny Carter, Heard, Heritage, Skyview, Springdale and Vineville Academy, according to the district.
The school system said its internal analysis of raw data showed that 12 elementary and middle schools made double-digit increases over a three-year period.
Students at Lane Elementary scoring at developing learner and above increased by 28 percentage points since 2021. That’s up 8 percentage points from the last school year, according to the news release.
“Reading and writing are vital skills students need. Therefore, building a culture of literacy has been one of our priorities at Lane Elementary,” said Principal Keisha Wallace-Dawson. “An increase in English Language Arts scores represents the collective effort of our entire school community.”
While EOG scores showed improvement since 2021, scores increased in ELA, and physical science and social studies for eighth-grade students scoring developing and above when compared to the previous year’s performance results. Student performance in ELA for sixth- and seventh-graders maintained similar performance when compared to the previous year.
Students at Ballard-Hudson scoring at developing learner and above increased by 20 percentage points since 2021, up 4 percentage points since last year.
“At Ballard-Hudson Middle, we emphasized data-driven instruction, and our teachers utilized their assessment data to determine the needs of their students and then they planned lessons to meet those needs,” said Principal Latrina Nash.
Georgia Milestones math scores will be released this fall.