Rome and Floyd County Schools See Improvement In Milestones

Literacy, especially in high schoolers, is still an obstacle but both the Rome and Floyd County school systems touted gains in the Georgia Milestones released by Georgia Department of Education on Friday .

Overall a statewide decline in reading scores among third graders is part of a larger trend. According to 2022 assessment data presented to the Georgia Council on Literacy last fall, 56% of third-grade students in Georgia were not prepared to move to the next grade.

Just over 80% of Floyd County third graders tested at or above grade level in literacy standards for 2024. In Rome, half of third graders in Rome elementary schools tested at below grade level standards.

Allison Timberlake, the DOE’s deputy superintendent for assessment and accountability, attributed those types of testing results to the lingering effects of the pandemic, when many schools were closed and students were forced to rely on online instruction.

“Those third graders were in kindergarten during the 2020-21 school year,” Timberlake said. “That probably had a role to play in initially developing those early-learning skills.”

The state scores for third grade students show 35.5% of students scoring below grade level, with 64.5% testing at grade level or above. The state scores for secondary education students show 32.9% of students testing below grade level standards and 67.1% testing at or above grade level.

Floyd County elementary schools saw the highest milestone scores at Garden Lakes Elementary, with 89.6% of students scoring at or above grade level. On the other end of that scale, 64.2% of Alto Park students scored at or above the grade average on the Milestones.

On the higher end, at West End Elementary 65.6% of third-grade students scored at or above grade level. On the lower end of the scale, Main Elementary saw the lowest scores, with 21.2% of students scoring at or above the grade-level standard.

According to the test data, Rome students showed increased proficiency in English Language Arts, social studies, and science. Rome saw several grade levels increase scores in ELA when based on cohort data. Cohort data compares how students scored in the previous grade. Fifth-grade students increased their scores in both ELA and science from the previous year.

“We are proud of the hard work and dedication our students and teachers have shown. Our goal is growth and we can definitely see growth in some of these numbers,” Rome City Schools Superintendent Eric L. Holland said. “We strive to do our best every day, and I know we will continue to do that.”

High School Literacy

Rome High School test scores improved this year but still showed that almost half of the 574 students tested were still below grade level for reading proficiency. Floyd County high school students fared somewhat better with the 593 students who took the test, 64.2% scored at or above the grade level standard, however that left a significant amount of high schoolers, 34.8% still reading below grade level.

Individually, each of the high schools Model High saw the highest scores out of the four high schools, with 76.1% of students scoring at or above grade level and Coosa High School saw the lowest with only 51.1% of students reading at grade level or above.

While some of those numbers may not sound ideal, looking at year over year data Assistant Superintendent and Chief Academic Officer John Parker said the numbers show growth and a recovery from pandemic related learning loss.

In a release, Floyd County Schools pointed toward specific achievements in literacy. The third-grade literacy increased from 79% to 84% and overall literacy rate increased from 71% to 73%.

“Our teachers continue to demonstrate a growth mindset and they’re always striving for excellence,” Parker said. “As a system we also understand that literacy is the single most important aspect of a child’s education. Our record-setting performance shows our commitment to improving literacy rates for all of our students. While we celebrate, we anxiously await the math results which continue to be a strength for our school system. It is an honor and a privilege to serve our students, teachers, and community to celebrate this accomplishment with them all.”

Because math assessments were updated to align with the new K-12 mathematics standards first implemented during the school year just ended, Milestones math scores won’t be released until this fall.