Despite state test results, released Friday, that show local districts are lagging behind the state average in some areas, local school district officials are noting improvements from last year”s results.
“For example, students in seventh-grade language arts made a 12 percentage-point gain in number of students scoring proficient and advanced over the previous year”s scores,” said Columbus Municipal School District Testing Coordinator Dr. Myra Gillis. “Cook (Fine Arts Magnet School) fourth-grade math increased the percentage of students scoring Proficient and Advanced by more than 20 percentage points.
“In other areas we”ve experienced some declines that are causing us to revisit the curriculum and the teaching strategies in search of a more effective way to deliver instruction,” she added.
Test results indicate Columbus Municipal School District and Lowndes County School District students mostly fell behind the state average for students performing at proficient and advanced.
CMSD had a lower percentage of students — grades three through eight — test at proficient or advanced levels in language arts and mathematics than the average for third- through eighth-graders throughout the state, according to recently released Mississippi Curriculum Test 2 results.
In LCSD, a higher percentage of third- through fifth-graders tested at proficient or advanced levels in language arts and mathematics than the state average.
But LCSD sixth- through eighth-graders tended to fall behind the state”s average for proficient or advanced levels.
Also, Subject Area Testing Program results show CMSD students behind the state average for students passing in all four subject areas — algebra, history, biology and English — and LCSD students behind in two areas, algebra and biology. LCSD was ahead of the state average for English and history.
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