Henry County Schools Receives 2020-2021 Milestones Results

Submission Date: August 18, 2021

Release Date: For Immediate Release

Contact: J.D. Hardin, 770-957-6601 ext. 01161, john.hardin@henry.k12.ga.us

(Release # 0008-08-2021)

Henry County Schools Receives 2020-2021 Milestones Results

Pandemic year disruptions slow learning, student achievement levels

*NOTE: See important note at end of the press release pertaining to non-comparability between this year’s data and previous years.

HENRY COUNTY, GA – Henry County Schools officials received the district’s performance results from the 2021 Georgia Milestones this week as the state, district, and individual school scores were released by the Georgia Department of Education.

After one of the most challenging school years in which learning environments were uncommon and on-campus instruction was routinely interrupted due to shifting health metrics and safety concerns, the state of Georgia moved to make the Georgia Milestones Assessment optional for student participation. As a result, only 47 percent of 3^rd through 8^th graders in Henry County Schools took the End of Grade (EOG) Milestones, while 31 percent of district high school students took the End of Course (EOC) Milestones. These percentages compare to the state’s average of 70 percent for 3^rd through 8^th grade EOGs and 59 percent for high school EOCs. This significant shift in the student participation here locally and across the state has resulted in important but not annually comparable data.

Participation Rates Decline During Pandemic

The state specified students should not be required to come on campus solely for the purpose of testing, which had a significant impact on participation in the state assessment. In Henry County Schools, compared to the last spring assessment of the Georgia Milestones in 2019, 10,000 fewer students in grades 3-8 and 7,000 fewer students in grades 9-12 took the Georgia Milestones in the spring of 2021. While grade levels and subjects varied in student participation rates, on average fewer than 50% of HCS 3-8th graders participated in Milestones and approximately one-third of eligible high school students participated.

In addition to removing testing requirements, the state board of education reduced the grade implications for high school test-takers. Once responsible for 20 percent of a student’s grade, the EOC now constituted only 0.01 percent. However, Henry County Schools gave its students the option to keep the 20 percent weighted grade if it helped their academic standing.

The following data reveal 2021 district performance for each of the four core subject areas assessed by the End of Grade and End of Course assessments, with specific consideration toward data reflecting Proficient Learner levels and greater.

Performance: HCS 2021 % Proficient & Distinguished

*ELA*	*3^rd*	*4^th*	*5^th*	*6^th*	*7^th*	*8^th*	*Am Lit*
*’20 - ‘21*	29	29	30	39	34	39	21
*Math*	*3^rd*	*4^th*	*5^th*	*6^th*	*7^th*	*8^th*	Alg I *
*’20 - ‘21*	26	31	20	23	26	25	24
*Science*	*5^th*	*8^th*	*Biology*
*’20 - ‘21*	27	21	34
*Social Studies*	*8^th*	*US History*
*’20 - ‘21*	28	25

*Algebra 1 performance includes MS and HS students who took Algebra 1 course

Performance: HCS 2021 % Reading On or Above Grade Level

*Lexile*	*3^rd*	*4^th*	*5^th*	*6^th*	*7^th*	*8^th*	*Am Lit*
*’20 - ‘21*	57	54	63	58	66	71	49

Moving Forward

Superintendent Davis and the Henry County Board of Education have been committed to ensuring that every resource is at the district’s disposal to support any learning gaps that occurred last year due to the pandemic. From added support in our elementary grade levels to new instructional and learning resources, and even course credit and grade recovery opportunities, extensive efforts and planning have been underway since January to ensure that the district can move into the new school year with minimal interruptions and a laser focus on getting our students back on the upward trajectory witnessed before the 2020-2021 school year. This planning included a focus on what could be done during the first few weeks of summer to reduce any gaps as well as important targeted support to start the new school year.

Before the end of the previous school year, district officials laid out three assurances for families that the district has focused its efforts to supporting as a part of the overall learning recovery efforts throughout the summer and new school year. Henry County Schools will:

Proactively monitor and accelerate reading proficiency
Address essential standards and skills gaps in ELA and Mathematics
Support students in high school to recover course credits needed to graduate

“There is no denying the challenges we all overcame to work through last school year,” stated Davis. “In the end, we were able to celebrate our seniors while giving proper support and attention to the students moving into new grades this year having endured an uncertain educational landscape. We remain committed to helping everyone regain the achievement levels they were once poised to accomplish before everything was interrupted.

We look forward to celebrating large-scale growth when we get to this point next year thanks to the incredible efforts of our teachers and staff to support student learning.”

For more information on Henry County Schools, visit www.henry.k12.ga.us.

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Reading this year’s scores - Caution urged when examining results as year-to-year comparisons not recommended due to the significant reduction in the percent of students who participated in the assessment. Further, 2021 Milestones scores do not indicate whether a student had the opportunity to learn all the content standards or whether disruptions to the learning experience resulted in student exposure to only some of the content standards. – From the Georgia Department of Education