May 21, 2008
Albany -- Low scores on the Criterion Referenced Competency Test have Dougherty County Schools starting their summer school classes early, and they're expecting more students.
Summer school will start Tuesday, and Dougherty County anticipates those classes will be full of third, fifth, and eighth graders who didn't pass the reading and math CRCT's.
Half of Dougherty County eighth graders failed the math portion of the test.
It could create more problems for other districts creating a mobility issue next year if the grades affect a school's Annual Yearly Progress.
"If the school has not made Adequate Yearly Progress repetitively, then they would have to offer a choice, and that would increase the mobility rate for students being allowed to chose a school of their choice," says DCSS Test Coordinator Renee Bridges.
Right now in Dougherty County, the only school that might it affect is Merry Acres Middle School.
Dougherty County Schools today sent home letters to the parents of children who did not pass the test, alerting them about the summer school program.
Update: Georgia Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox is throwing out those the results of the state social studies exams sixth and seventh-graders took earlier this year. Students took new tests this year to correspond with a tougher curriculum in math and social studies. Cox says it's common for tests scores to drop with a new test.
Cox says she was shocked by preliminary results of the social studies tests, which indicate that most students failed. She said in a letter to local superintendents that she plans to ask a group of teachers and other experts to help determine what went wrong.
Scores from the eighth-grade math exam will stand, even though about 40 percent of students failed. They must pass that test to move on to high school.
(The A. P. contributed to this report)
Feedback: news@walb.com?subject=CRCT-SummerSchool-JE-5/21
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 Worldnow and WALB, a Raycom Media Station. 
