CRCT results good overall when compared to CSRA

The news is good for Lincoln County!

For the most part, local students fared well on the CRCT (Criterion- Referenced Competency Tests), when compared to students in the CSRA as a whole, which encompasses 12 counties.

The results were as follows:

First Grade:

Local students ranked second in reading and math and third in English/ language arts.

Second Grade:

Students at LCES ranked first in English/language arts, beating Columbia, McDuffie, and Wilkes counties; second in reading; and sixth in math.

Columbia County and Glascock County took the top spots in math.

Third Grade:

Lincoln County was ranked first in social studies; second in science, English/language arts, and reading; and fifth in math.

Fourth Grade:

Local students ranked first in English/ language arts; second in math, science, and social studies; and third in reading.

Fifth Grade: LCES students ranked first in reading, English/language arts, and social studies; second in science; and fourth in math behind Columbia, McDuffie, and Jenkins counties.

Sixth Grade:

Lincoln County was ranked second in reading, third in English/language arts and science, and seventh in math.

State School Superintendent Kathy Cox invalidated social studies scores for students in grades six and seven due to alignment issues between the CRCT and the curriculum.

Approximately 28 percent of sixthgraders and only 24.3-percent of seventh graders passed the Social Studies CRCT statewide.

Seventh Grade:

LCMS students ranked first in English/ language arts and reading and second in math and science.

Eighth Grade:

Local students ranked first in math, second in science, third in reading, fifth in social studies, and seventh in English/language arts.

According to Brian Campbell, assistant superintendent for instruction, "Overall, we are very excited about our students' performance on the CRCT - in many areas, our average scores were higher than those of most of the counties in the CSRA, including Columbia, Wilkes, and McDuffie. This reflects a great deal of hard work and dedication on the part of our teachers, students, and administrators."

Although the students at LCES and LCMS, as a whole, performed well on the CRCT, there are some areas that need improvement.

"Our goal is to be number one in all areas and to do that, we will have to implement strategies for improving our scores in math," Campbell continued. "Part of the reason for the drop in scores is the fact that the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) for math were implemented in grades three, four, five, and eight for the first time this year."

He went on to say that the system's School Improvement Teams (SIT) will be meeting in July to analyze the data and develop plans for raising student achievement.

As far as the state results are concerned, students from Lincoln County exceeded the state average in all areas except sixth-grade math.

For more information about the CRCT scores, visit the system's website at www.lincoln county schools.org.