Some Georgia teens are giving up a couple of weeks of summer vacation in hopes of getting a couple more points on the state's high school graduation tests.
Project ExPreSS, a new initiative of the Georgia Department of Education, kicked off Monday. Project Exam Preparation for Science and Social Studies gives two weeks of intense instruction to students who narrowly missed passing the science and social studies portions of the Georgia High School Graduation Tests.
The special summer curriculum was designed the same way the state designs tests, by focusing on the "key principles," state Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox said during a visit to the program Monday at A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet High School. A.R. Johnson is hosting 420 students from Richmond, Burke, Warren and Washington counties.
Science and social studies are the two areas students have the most difficulty passing on the state graduation tests. Students must pass all four sections and the Georgia High School Writing Test to be eligible for a diploma.
High school is the first time students are required to pass state science and social studies tests.
"As a science coordinator, I wish they were held accountable all the way through," said Richmond County Science Coordinator Stacey Mabray, who is heading up Project ExPreSS locally.
The Richmond County school system has had a graduation test remediation program, but Project ExPreSS is the first such program the State Department of Education has sponsored at this level, Ms. Mabray said. The state is funding the program, paying for teachers and transportation.
"They pulled together the best and brightest teachers," she said, adding that those at the A.R. Johnson site come from as far away as Gwinnett County. "It's really the entire three years (of instruction) in two weeks."
The graduation test is first administered to juniors. Rising seniors who failed the social studies and science portion of the graduation test by just a few points were selected to participate in Project ExPreSS.
Ms. Cox toured Project ExPreSS with Richmond County Superintendent Dana Bedden and other school officials. During the visit, the former social studies teacher also took time to teach a few lessons.
Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.
2009 OFFICIAL RESULTS
On Monday, the Georgia Department of Education released the official school-level results of the Georgia High School Graduation Tests. The results show the percentage of juniors who passed after taking the tests for the first time.
| English | Math | Science | Soc. Studies | |||||
| '08 | '09 | '08 | '09 | '08 | '09 | '08 | '09 | |
| Academy of Richmond County | 86 | 90 | 84 | 90 | 77 | 84 | 78 | 81 |
| Butler High School | 73 | 73 | 85 | 78 | 64 | 62 | 69 | 62 |
| Cross Creek High School | 90 | 85 | 90 | 91 | 82 | 81 | 86 | 82 |
| Davidson Fine Arts | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Glenn Hills High School | 78 | 77 | 77 | 78 | 63 | 65 | 64 | 65 |
| Hephzibah High School | 93 | 86 | 90 | 86 | 84 | 80 | 83 | 78 |
| A.R. Johnson | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 99 | 100 | 100 |
| Josey High School | 72 | 78 | 76 | 82 | 64 | 72 | 64 | 72 |
| Laney High School | 68 | 69 | 84 | 85 | 55 | 52 | 52 | 48 |
| Westside High School | 90 | 86 | 91 | 92 | 84 | 85 | 87 | 84 |
| Evans High School | 94 | 94 | 97 | 97 | 94 | 93 | 93 | 92 |
| Greenbrier High School | 97 | 95 | 98 | 99 | 96 | 96 | 97 | 96 |
| Harlem High School | 88 | 92 | 90 | 96 | 88 | 93 | 84 | 90 |
| Lakeside High School | 94 | 97 | 95 | 98 | 95 | 96 | 94 | 96 |
Source: Georgia Department of Education
Comments
so simply put, so simply true.
It disturbs me that the 3 lowest scores are in the predominantly black schools. There should be a performance measure in place to target these areas for improvement and to provide additional help. If these scores were any where else....something would be done about it. As it stands....no one cares and that is sad. The results are right here in black and white. All children deserve to have an equal (quality) education no mater where they live. Also, the school campus should be the same (walk thru BHS and then any other school on the other side of town) BIG difference.
Just wondering....will there be any transportation provided to and from the test location?????
This is a great idea...but maybe the location site should have been in the school zones were the scores were the lowest.
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