Rockdale County Public Schools students scored well over state averages on the Criteria Referenced Competency Test, according to preliminary results released today by the Georgia Department of Education.

In every grade level and subject category, except for fifth grade English/Language Arts, a higher percentage of Rockdale students passed the CRCT than in the state. In fifth grade English/Language Arts, 89.2 percent of RCPS students met or exceeded expectations while the state overall had 92 percent.

For grades 1-5, an average of 93 percent of Rockdale students passed the reading portion, compared to 90 percent state-wide. English/language arts scores stayed level with about 90 percent, which was 2 percent higher than the state average of 88 percent. For the math portion, an average of 88 percent of Rockdale elementary students passed, or 6 percent higher than the state average of 82 percent.

For grades 6-8, an average of 95 percent of Rockdale students passed the reading portion, while an average of 92 percent passed state-wide. An average of 95 percent passed the English/language arts in Rockdale and 92 percent in the state, and about 82 percent passed the math portion while 78 percent passed in the state. 

The biggest change, according to CRCT figures presented at the Board of Education meeting on June 10 was the drop in the eighth graders that failed the math portion. That number was 18 percent in 2007, jumped to 44 percent in 2008, went down to 28 percent in 2009, and returned to 18 percent for 2010.

The 2008 spike in the number of eighth graders that did not pass the math portion occurred after a curriculum change that year, said cabinet members.

"This is a much more rigorous math across the state," pointed out Eugene Baker, assistant superintendent in the Office of School Improvement. "Our eight graders are taking what would have been in the ninth grade a few years ago."

"We are in the midst of analyzing the CRCT results to pinpoint our strengths and weaknesses," said Superintendent Samuel King. "These results begin our work for the upcoming school year to determine safety-net and enrichment programs for students to move from not meeting the standards to meeting and from meeting to exceeding. We continue this process of analyzing data to hone in on the individual school and student needs when the official results are released in a few weeks. Overall, we see an increase in scores in our gateway grades of 3, 5 and 8."