Standardized Tests Reflect Steady Academic Achievement

We constantly analyze student data as we work to engage the whole child—intellectually, social-emotionally, and physically. One of those many data points is standardized testing results. Our students take the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) test three times per year, and most students take the state-required Georgia Milestones exam each spring.  Last spring’s Milestones exams indicated academic attainment at unprecedented levels in some areas:

• Our third graders’ scores in English and math reached their highest state percentile rank since at least 2016 (90% & 92%, respectively).
• Our eighth graders’ scores in English and math also reached the highest state percentile rank since at least 2016 (92% & 85%, respectively).

We have also noticed that our students’ MAP scores are generally on par with what we saw prior to the onset of the COVID pandemic. The chart below compares Fall 2019 median scores by grade level with the same for Fall 2022. It is interesting to note that our current kindergartners and first graders – none of whom had their elementary education interrupted with stints of virtual learning – outscored the kindergartners and first graders of Fall 2019. Also of note is the difference between Fall 2019 third graders and current third graders. This year’s third graders had both their kindergarten and first grade years interrupted by COVID-driven classroom closures. Their median score was 6.2 points lower when compared with the third graders from Fall of 2019. The difference is only 3%, but it is larger than what was observed in other grades.