COVID brings test scores down across Georgia

Image
  • Similar trends of slumping test scores have been reported from state to state.
    Similar trends of slumping test scores have been reported from state to state.
Body

Data from the Georgia Milestones Tests, an assessment program intended to gauge students’ academic performance, shows test scores have declined not just in Habersham County but statewide following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data released from the Habersham County School System, scores were lower across grade levels, as third through eighth grade students who took the state’s End of Grade (EOG) Milestones Tests performed at a lower proficiency percentage across a variety of subject areas in 2021.

In the spring of 2019, according to the data, 45 percent of third grade students in Habersham County’s School System achieved the status of either a “distinguished learner” (Level 4) or a “proficient learner” (Level 3) in the subject of English Language Arts – 3 percent higher than the state average of 42 percent.

In 2021, after a year of learning loss due to the pandemic, the average percentage of the system’s third graders who achieved either Level 3 or Level 4 test scores in English language arts was 34 percent, lower than the state average of 36 percent.

Scores among third grade Habersham County students in the subject of mathematics also experienced a significant decline, with 58 percent scoring at proficient levels in 2019 compared to 39 percent in 2021 – a notable 19 percent decline in the era of COVID-19.

The downward trend continues through grade levels. Fourth grade students tested in English language arts scored 10 percentage points lower in 2021 (38 percent) than they did in 2019 (48 percent).

This decline more or less reflected the language scores of fourth grade students throughout the state of Georgia, with about 37 percent scoring at proficient levels in 2021.

The drop in scores was not as drastic for fifth grade students tested in English language arts, as 38 percent achieved a Level 3 or Level 4 status in 2021 – down only a few points from 42 percent in 2019.

Fifth graders who took Milestones Tests in the subject of science also scored 11 percentage points lower – down from 48 percent in 2019 to 37 percent in 2021.

The declining achievement in EOG testing in both Habersham County and the state remained consistent also through the middle grades, with data showing proficient test scores down more than 10 percentage points in some cases.

Habersham Central was not immune to the impact of learning loss due to COVID-19, as Level 3 and Level 4 test scores were also slightly lower among high school students, who take the End of Course (EOC) Milestones Tests to determine their overall level of proficiency.

In spring of 2019, the county’s high school students who achieved Level 3 or Level 4 statuses in the subject of American literature and composition was 56 percent systemwide – nine percentage points higher than the 2019 state average of 47 percent – while only 32 percent performed at proficient levels in winter of 2020.

An outlier in the Habersham County data was EOC test scores in the subject of algebra I, which increased from 54 percent in 2019 to 65 percent in 2020 – far outperforming the state average which saw a marked decline in Level 3 and Level 4 scores from 41 percent in 2019 to a dismal 25 percent in 2020.

This drastic decline could be attributed, however, to the fact that some schools in the state shutdown or canceled Milestones tests amid the pandemic. The school system’s algebra I Level 3 and 4 test scores did later fall to 37 percent in spring 2021 – although still higher than the state average of 31 percent.

While the percentage of proficient test scores showed a consistent decline among high school students,  Habersham County did score higher than the state average in a range of subjects including American literature and composition, U.S. history and biology in winter of 2020.

With Level 3 and 4 test scores dropping throughout the state and the U.S., the data emphasizes the grave impact the COVID-19 has had on learning – a challenge school officials across the nation have had to address.

Habersham County school officials also cited the pandemic and the disruptions in learning the virus has created as the direct reason for the lower test scores in the county.

“Georgia Milestones was designed to measure the performance of students in a traditional educational environment, and the 2020-2021 school year was anything but,” said Renee York, director of federal programs and testing.

“Rolling quarantines, rising case counts, and shifting instructional models were beyond the control of teachers and students.”

York added that she is optimistic student scores will rebound now that the county’s schools have returned to regular learning.

Superintendent Matthew Cooper also cited the coronavirus pandemic as a contributing factor.

“Due to the challenges associated with the virus, there was no focus or emphasis on state tests in our schools last year,” Cooper said. “It should go without saying that results last year were drastically different from the year before the virus.”

Similar trends of slumping test scores have been reported from state to state. According to the Associated Press, the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments results indicate that “proficiency rates fell 11 percentage points to 44 percent in math and seven points to 53 percent in reading, since 2019.”

The AP also noted that the Trump administration permitted schools to waive state testing amid the pandemic in the spring of 2020 – another likely contributor to lower scores.

State tests scores were also lower in North Carolina, according to ednc.org, which reported that “student scores were down across all year-end tests and that “in many of the assessments, fewer than half of the students were meeting grade-level expectations.”

Bridge Michigan also reported two weeks ago that “[Michigan’s] federally-mandated standardized test given to students in grades 3-7, and similar tests given in grades 8-11, show steep declines in learning during the 2020-21 school year in almost all grades and subjects.”

Letter to the Editor

We welcome letters to the editor online. Letters are published at the sole discretion of the newspaper staff in the order they are received.
Submitter Contact Information
CAPTCHA