State Milestone End of Course Assessment results for the 2017-18 school year were released Friday by the Georgia Department of Education, and Coweta County high school students generally showed higher performance on subject tests compared to state-wide averages.

Georgia Milestone end-of-course tests were administered in the Fall of 2017 and Spring of 2018. Test results released by the state of Georgia on Friday were for the Spring 2018 administration. Coweta County High Schools employ a block scheduling system, in which students complete most courses in one semester.

The Georgia Milestones Assessment System is the state’s comprehensive testing program for students, covering a number of subject exams in grades 3 through 12. High School End of Course exams are administered in 9th Grade Literature and Composition, American Literature and Composition, Algebra 1, Geometry, Biology, Physical Science, U.S. History, and Economics.

All state End-of-Course tests are taken in courses that are required for graduation, with the exception of Physical Science.  In Coweta County high schools many students elect to take Physics, which is not tested by the state, in preparation for college. Physical Science End-of-Course results, therefore, do not reflect all Coweta County students.

Student performance on the Georgia Milestones is reported in one of four categories – Beginning Learner, Developing Learner, Proficient Learner, and Distinguished Learner. These levels are intended to reflect student mastery of the content area in each grade level. The state examines the data based on the top three levels (developing and higher) and top two levels of student performance (proficient and higher).  

Combining the top three categories of student proficiency, Coweta County School System students outperformed the state in 15 of 16 exams during 2017-18.  Combining the top two categories of student performance, Coweta County School System students outperformed the state in 11 of 16 exams during the year.

Coweta students showed high rates of content mastery in several subjects, notably in U.S. History and Economics, where Coweta students performed at rates of 9 to 10 percentage points higher than their counterparts state-wide.