The Clarke County School had three middle schools recognized as Math Leaders and three elementary schools designated as Literacy Leaders by the Georgia Department of Education for demonstrating exceptional achievement or growth in mathematics and reading scores during the 2024-25 school year compared to 2023-24. GaDOE released its list of recognitions last week.
For the second consecutive year, Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School earned the High School Achievement award in math for having more than 90% of its eighth-grade students who took the Algebra: Concepts and Connections end-of-course exam score proficient or above. Hilsman and Clarke middle schools earned High School Growth recognitions in math with nearly 30% increases in the number of eighth-grade students scoring proficient or above on the Algebra exam. Both schools needed at least a 5-point increase to earn the recognition.
Meanwhile, Bettye H. Holston, Fowler Drive, and Winterville elementary schools all earned 3rd Grade Gateway Growth awards as part of GaDOEās Literacy Leader recognitions for their exceptional increases in the number of third-grade students reading at or above grade level on the Georgia Milestones assessment system.
āI am so proud of the gains made by all of these schools as they demonstrate the impact that strong instruction and support have on student achievement,ā said Dr. Jennifer Scott, CCSD Interim Superintendent. āThese Literacy and Math Leader awards are evidence that when we set ambitious goals and work together to raise the bar, our students will rise up to meet our expectations. I could not be prouder of the collective effort that has led to this success.ā
Some key data points for CCSDās schools that were named either Math or Literacy Leaders included:
BHL Middle had 94.3% of its eighth-graders who took the Algebra EOC exam score proficient or above (up slightly from 94.1% last year). This included a 17.5-point improvement ā from 52.9 to 70.4% ā in students rated as distinguished, the highest level of achievement on the Milestones scale.
Hilsman Middle saw a 28.6-point increase in the percentage of eighth-graders scoring proficient or above on the Algebra exam (from 55.4 to 84%) and a 29.1-point improvement in students scoring distinguished (from 14.9 to 44%). Clarke Middle also saw a 28.6-point increase in the percentage of eighth-graders who were proficient or above on the Algebra exam (from 54.4 to 83%) and a 22.2-point improvement in students scoring distinguished (from 19.3 to 41.5%).
Winterville Elementary, Fowler Drive Elementary, and Holston Elementary each surpassed the 10-point growth threshold in third-grade reading scores that they needed to be recognized as Literacy Leaders. Winterville improved by 17 points from 51.1 to 68.1% of third-graders reading at or above grade level. Fowler Drive increased by 18.1 points to 63.3%, while Holston saw a 24.2-point jump from 27 to 51.2%.