Rockdale County Public School high schoolers outperformed students in the metro-Atlanta area and statewide on the recent Georgia High School Writing test.

The RCPS district average remains at a high level with 96 percent of students meeting and exceeding on the writing assessment. RCPS students outperformed both the metro average of 95 percent and the state average of 94 percent.

Individual school scores are: Salem High School - 94 percent, Heritage High School - 97 percent and Rockdale County High School - 96 percent.

The GHSWT scores reflect 11th grade first-time test takers who took the exam in September.

"Once again I congratulate our classroom teachers in all subjects who support our interdisciplinary approach to teaching writing," said Superintendent Richard Autry. "Our students continue to demonstrate strong writing skills as evidenced by these impressive results at each of our high schools again this year. These results affirm our K-12 focus on quality writing instruction with the understanding that written expression is a key trait desired by employers and colleges alike. I am proud of the accomplishments of our students and predict they will benefit from these results well beyond high school."