Fayette County Students Graduation Test Results Remain High

Fayette County high school students continue to post high pass rates on the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT), even on the social studies section that was aligned to the new Georgia Performance Standards this year.

In fact, more students scored in the “advanced proficiency” category in the English and science portions, up 2 points to 49 percent and up 1 point to 46 percent, respectively, over 2009. The social studies pass rate dropped 5 points from last year to 89 percent, reflecting the change from the old curriculum to the new, but school officials expect the score to rise next year after teachers and students have had more time to adapt.

The county continues to show much higher pass rates than the state in all subjects: English Language Arts, 95 percent (Fayette) and 87 percent (state); mathematics, 96 percent (Fayette) and 89 percent (state); science, 95 percent (Fayette) and 87 percent (state); social studies, 89 percent (Fayette) and 75 percent (state).

The Hispanic subgroup showed an increase in the percentage of students performing above basic proficiency in nearly all subjects. In English/language arts, those performing at the advanced level increased 10 percent and performance at the honors level increased six percent. In mathematics, advanced proficiency increased three percent; in science, advanced proficiency increased seven percent and honors proficiency increased three percent. Even with the test being aligned to the new social studies curriculum for the first time; the pass rate for Hispanic students increased two percent.

The GHSGT is given to high school students for the first time in the spring of their junior year. All four portions of the test, plus the Georgia High School Writing Test, must be passed in order for a student to receive a full diploma from a Georgia public school. Students can retake the GHSGT as many times as they like if they do not pass specific exams.

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