Schools

Local Juniors Ace Writing Assessment

Parkview, Berkmar, Meadowcreek students fare well on their first try.

Local high-school juniors aced the writing assessment portion of the 2010-11 Georgia High School Graduation Test on their first try.

According to statistics released by Gwinnett County Public Schools, 94 percent or more of the juniors at Berkmar, Meadowcreek and Parkview either met or exceeded passing scores on the assessment.

Students must pass the writing assessment, along with subtests in core subjects (Math, Social Studies, Language Arts and Science) to earn a high school diploma in Georgia.

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Parkview High School juniors had a 99 percent passing grade, the highest score among local schools. Of the 595 juniors who took the test for the first time, 84 percent met passing standards and 15 percent exceeded them.

Meadowcreek High School in Norcross, which draws students from Lilburn Middle School, scored 97 percent among its 412 first-time test-takers. The school had 92 percent meet and five percent exceed passing standards.

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Berkmar High School, the only high school in the Lilburn city limits, scored a 94, with 86 percent meeting and eight percent exceeding (547 took the test).

System-wide, 98 percent of the 9,403 juniors who took the test passed on their first try. That's a two-percent increase over last year.

Students who didn't pass the test will have more opportunities to retake it before graduation.

 "The writing test assesses a student's ability to write about a topic using skills identified in the state's Georgia Performance Standards," said Dale Robbins, associate superintendent for Teaching and Learning. "Clearly, the strong focus on literacy in our language arts program and our schools' emphasis on writing across the curriculum is helping our students… it is preparing them to succeed academically and in life."


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