ROME, GA— The Georgia Department of Education released Georgia Milestones Assessment scores for the 2021-2022 school year. Rome City Schools students held steady when compared to last year’s progress and improved in many areas of study.
When looking at scores in math, RCS scores improved across all grade levels and in Algebra I. English Language Arts averages went up across the district except in a couple of grade levels where the decrease was minimal. In science and social studies, students scoring on grade level (proficient and above) increased as a district.
The percentage of students achieving the Proficient Learner level and above increased or held steady on 16 of 19 End of Grade (EOG) and End of Course (EOC) assessments. Students who achieve the Proficient Learner designation are considered on track to being ready for college or work, which aligns with the mission of Rome City Schools.
According to a release issued by the Georgia Department of Education: “Georgia students showed strong improvement on the 2021-2022 Georgia Milestones assessments. Scores increased or held steady on 17 of 21 assessments, compared to the 2020-2021 school year. While scores have not yet reached pre-pandemic levels, the scores clearly show that academic recovery is underway in Georgia’s public schools.”
State School Superintendent Richard Woods said in the release, “Georgia’s teachers, students, and the rest of our public education family have worked hard to get learning back on track following the disruption of the pandemic. From offering expanded summer and afterschool programs to the efforts of dedicated Academic Recovery Specialists, the state, districts, and local schools have been laser-focused on addressing the impact of lost learning opportunities. These results show those efforts are paying off and students’ academic achievement has returned to the upward trajectory it was on prior to COVID-19.”
Rome City Schools has taken additional measures at the district level to assist students who may need help getting up-to-speed with their studies. Through the system’s Federal Programs department, several programs have been implemented to mitigate lost learning opportunities due to the recent pandemic. Some of those recent programs include:
-Orton-Gillingham multisensory reading training this summer for over 100 K-3 teachers at every school.
-40 teachers to obtain their reading and dyslexia endorsements.
-Offering training on Fountas and Pinnell Classroom literacy components for new teachers.
“We use our MAP assessment data collected in August to develop a plan for growth,” said Dr. Dawn Williams, Interim Superintendent of Rome City Schools. “Our goal is to be proactive in helping our students to be successful, so some of the programming we have recently implemented at the district level is a result of data collected before our assessment scores were released by GaDOE. By working to be more proactive, we were able to find ways to improve our system, and we will continue to look at additional tools we can offer our educators. With a plan in place that is based on data, we can continue to help our students achieve more in the classroom.”
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