Bibb below, other Middle Georgia districts above state Milestones test averages; proficiency low overall

Several Middle Georgia school districts beat state averages for proficiency on the new Georgia Milestones tests, but Bibb County fell below.

District- and school-level results were released Monday, and in each of the 32 grade-level content areas, Bibb was at least nine percentage points short of the state average for the percentage of students considered proficient in the tested subject.

"There is a great deal of work to be done; however, I know we're up to the challenge," Tanzy Kilcrease, the district's assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, said in a release.

The tests were administered to third- through 12th-graders, with state proficiency averages ranging from 29 percent to 40 percent on the various tests.

The proficiency numbers for the assessments were lower than those on previous End of Course Tests and Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests, which Georgia Milestones replaced. That was expected. The Georgia Milestones assessment was designed to get results that were closer to Georgia's proficiency rates on national tests.

"These results show a lower level of student proficiency than Georgians are used to seeing, but that does not mean Georgia students know less or that teachers are not doing a great job -- it means they've been asked to clear a higher bar," Georgia's School Superintendent Richard Woods said in a September release.

Proficient learners make up the third of four scoring levels -- beginning, developing, proficient and distinguished -- and are the students who have shown evidence they are "prepared for the next grade level or course," according to the release. Developing students may move on but need remediation.

In fourth grade math, for example, Bibb County notched a 22 percent rate of students proficient or above. Another 42 percent of students were deemed "developing" and would still move on to the next grade. On that assessment, 37 percent of students were marked "beginning learners."

The widest gap for Bibb students came in high school physical science, where 31 percent of students statewide were deemed proficient or better. In Bibb County, that number was just 5 percent.

Superintendent Curtis Jones called the first year of results a "base line" for future growth.

"Strategic work has been planned to analyze results to determine root causes and next steps for improvement," he said.

Meanwhile, Houston, Jones and Monroe counties had more students than the state average deemed proficient on a majority the tests.

For Monroe County, 40 percent or more students scored proficient or above on 17 of the 24 elementary and middle school assessments. The district's interim superintendent Mike Hickman credited work in the classroom for that success.

"Quite honestly, it's doing a good job of preparing for the Georgia Milestones with our units," he said.

Monroe's numbers dipped a little at the high-school level compared to state average, but 51 percent of the county's students tested proficient or better in U.S. History, well above the state average of 40 percent.

Houston topped the state average in five of eight high school courses, and Jones County did so in six courses.

Houston's best high school subject was coordinate algebra, with 52 percent of students scoring proficient or better in that course. Eric Payne, the district's assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, attributed that to an increased focus on algebra starting in the sixth grade.

"It goes back to the teachers really preparing the students," he said.

American literature proved difficult for students across Middle Georgia, as Bibb, Crawford, Houston, Jones, Monroe, Peach and Twiggs counties all came up short of the state average of 37 percent proficiency or better. Because the data was new Monday afternoon, officials hadn't yet determined a specific cause for that outcome.

"What we'll do is go back and drill it down to the specific (topics) where we didn't do well," Hickman said.

Peach County third-graders scored above the state proficiency average in math, science and social studies, and the county's physical science students also beat the state average.

Because 2014-15 was the first year the test was administered, the results weren't used for teacher evaluation or student promotion to the next grade. That will change this year, so Hickman said it is important to help students in the areas where they struggled as soon as possible.

"We've got to work real hard to identify the areas where kids aren't doing well and provide remediation," he said.

To contact writer Jeremy Timmerman, call 744-4331 or find him on Twitter@MTJTimm.

This story was originally published November 16, 2015 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Bibb below, other Middle Georgia districts above state Milestones test averages; proficiency low overall."