Dougherty County School System students continue to show growth in a majority of tested subjects, 2019 Georgia Milestones Assessment results indicate.

The Georgia Milestones Assessment is the state’s annual standardized test for public school students in Georgia. Results of the assessment, which were released statewide Friday, show that DCSS students improved in 54% of the tested subjects and grade levels.

DCSS Superintendent Kenneth Dyer said that the gains are attributable to a variety of factors, not the least of which have been the district’s focus on improving high-quality, tier-1 instruction in all classrooms across the district as well as the hard work of the district’s teachers who are committed to improving student achievement. 

“These results show that we are definitely moving the needle in several key areas and helping our students grow,” Dyer said. “Opportunities, however, still remain, and, with this data, we’ll focus in on those areas to make sure our students get the support they need.”

As it pertains to early-childhood literacy -- a key academic priority of the district -- DCSS elementary students improved in English and Language Arts (ELA) over 2018 numbers in every grade tested, with the largest gains occurring in third grade where students also improved more than their and state counterparts.

The ELA trend largely continues into middle school where students in sixth and seventh grade showed higher scores than in 2018.

While elementary and middle math remain areas of opportunity,  scores still managed to climb in certain grades. DCSS fourth-grade math students scored better than the state average, while sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students not only improved over their 2018 scores, but also improved more than the state average in their respective cohorts.

In high school, students who were tested in Coordinate Algebra, Analytic Geometry, Science/Biology, Physical Science and Economics posted better numbers than 2018.

All told, 13 out of 24 tested subjects, roughly 54%, showed improvement over the 2018 school year.

Late in the 2017 school year, the district began a program to focus on empowering all of its teachers and school leaders with new training on fundamental classroom instruction in an effort to eliminate what Dyer referred to as “pockets of excellence” across the district.

“The goal is to have highly-effective, high-quality instruction that is consistent and pervasive,” Dyer said. “Quite simply, we’re committed to having great teaching in every building, in every classroom every day.”