Pierce County Schools’ students scored higher than all area schools and the state on the Georgia Milestones test this spring.
The Okefenokee Regional Education Services Area (RESA) includes Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Camden, Charlton, Clinch, Coffee, Pierce and Ware.
Students in all grade levels finished above the RESA and state averages in all subjects including English Language arts, math, social studies and science at the elementary and middle school levels and also were above the RESA and state averages in American Literature, Algebra 1, Biology and U.S. History at the high school level.
Eighth graders had a 90 or above passing average for all four subjects, including English language arts, math, science and social studies. Area scores lagged behind Pierce by as much as 20 points and behind the state by as much as 34 points.
High school students turned in the highest passing percentages in Algebra 1 with a 95.3, followed closely by biology with a 92.7.
Pierce third and fourth graders both had an over 90 percent passing rate for math.
School superintendent Dara Bennett says she is pleased with the results of the Georgia Milestones Assessments.
The test was administered in April to all third, fourth and fifth grade students at Blackshear, Midway and Patterson Elementary Schools, sixth, seventh and eighth grade students at Pierce County Middle and to ninth-twelfth grade students at Pierce County High.
The test assesses student learning along four levels of performance (Beginning Learners, Developing Learners, Proficient Learners, Distinguished Learners).
The score is the percentage of students proficient in their coursework. Proficient learners are defined as students who demonstrate proficiency in the knowledge and skills necessary for this course, as specified in Georgia’s content standards.
The Georgia Milestones test was put in place in 2014 and is designed to be more challenging than other standardized tests, going beyond multiple choice with constructed and technology-enhanced questions.
The number of tests administered this year finally returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Test administration was postponed during the COVID 19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
