On July 26, the Georgia Department of Education released the 2023-24 Georgia Milestones Scores for the state. Baldwin County students showed continued improvement on the 2023-24 Georgia Milestones assessments. Milestone scores increased or held steady on 10 of 13 assessments in ELA, science, and social studies.
Because math assessments were updated to align with the new K-12 Mathematics Standards implemented during the 2023-24 school year, Georgia Milestones math scores will be available for release later this fall.
The 2023-24 Georgia Milestones scores showed positive indicators in the area of literacy. The largest increases in the percentage of students scoring Developing & Above were recorded in fifth-grade ELA (increased 10%), fourthgrade ELA (increased 8%), third-grade ELA (increased 5%), seventh-grade ELA (increased 5%), and American Literature (increased 7%).
Reading Status increased in all grade levels except sixth grade. The percentage of third-grade, fourth-grade, fifth-grade, seventh-grade, and eighth-grade students reading at grade level increased by an average of five percentage points. The local assessment system indicates that Baldwin County’s literacy initiative continues to show promise.
In addition, the Baldwin County School District is investing in its educators by providing them with the opportunity to complete literacy training to help teachers provide instruction aligned to the science of reading and structured literacy. All BCSD teachers in grades K-3 will be required to complete literacy training by June 2025.
“We are confident that our continued focus on implementation of targeted instructional strategies and efforts toward closing the learning gap will lead to higher student achievement,” said Baldwin County School District Superintendent Dr. Noris Price. “We are proud of our progress and the continued hard work of our teachers, staff, and students. While we are encouraged by the improvements in student performance, there is still a lot of work ahead of us to ensure that all of our students achieve at high levels and are prepared to succeed in life.”
About Georgia Milestones
Students take Georgia Milestones End of Grade (EOG) tests in grades 3-8, and Georgia Milestones End of Course (EOC) tests in identified high school courses. The Georgia Milestones Assessment System meets the federal requirement that states test students in math and ELA in grades 3-8 and once in high school, and in science once per grade band (3-5, 6-9, 10-12). Georgia Milestones assesses student learning along four levels of achievement: Beginning Learners, Developing Learners, Proficient Learners, and Distinguished Learners.
-Contributed by Superintendent Dr. Noris Price