Rome, Floyd see boost in proficient category of Milestones
♦ State tests show an increase from 2017 in the percentage of students in the Proficient Learner and above categories.
The percentage of Rome and Floyd County students landing in the Proficient Learner and above categories of the Georgia Milestones assessments increased on more than 10 assessments for each of the school systems.
The Proficient Learner designation, which one of four students are categorized under based on their scores, deems these students are on the road to being adequately prepared to attend college or enter a career, according to the Georgia Department of Education.
The Proficient Learner designation is the third level on a four-level scale, from beginning learner to distinguished learner, which students from third grade through high school are assigned to from their performance.
Statewide results indicate that on 22 of the 26 EOG, end of grade, and EOC, end of course, assessments, the percentage of students at the Proficient Learner level or above either increased or stayed the same from 2017, according to the state DOE.
Students in grades 3 through 8 all take EOG assessments in math and English language arts, while fifth- and eighth-graders are tested in science and social studies. High-schoolers take EOC assessments on subjects including literature, biology, algebra and U.S. history.
According to Georgia Milestones results:
On 20 assessments — at least one for each elementary and middle grade as well as six high school subjects — the percentage of Floyd County students in the Proficient Learner and above categories increased. This increase occurred in each of the assessments in fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth grades.
The percentage of Rome students in the Proficient Learner and above categories increased on 12 assessments, and stayed the same on one assessment. For each of the assessments taken by students in third grade, fourth grade and seventh grade, more students were Proficient Learners and above than 2017.
When comparing the percentage of students in the Proficient Learner and above grouping in 2018 to statewide results, there were 10 assessments for Floyd County Schools which exceeded the state while Rome City Schools only had three.
On the math assessments for third grade, fourth grade, seventh grade and eighth grade in Floyd County Schools, there were a higher percentage of students in the Proficient Learner and above grouping than the state average on those tests. The same occurred on the fourth-grade ELA test along with eighthgrade tests in science and social studies. Additionally, this was seen in the results for ninth-grade literature,
American literature and geometry.
On the math assessment for eighth grade, there were 11.2 percent more students in the Proficient Learner and above categories than 2017. Also, there were 14 percent more students in this grouping than 2017 on the social studies assessment.
The percentage of Rome City Schools students in the Proficient Learner and above categories exceeded the state average on assessments in third grade math as well as high school algebra and geometry. There were 11.9 percent more third-grade students — 54.2 percent — in this grouping than there was in 2017.