Schools
Tucker Schools Take the CRCT
Test results for area elementary and middle schools released by Georgia Department of Education.
The parents of Tucker elementary and middle school students are all too aware of the emphasis on testing today. The Georgia Legislature required the use of a standardized test in 2001 to evaluate whether the state’s schools were meeting appropriate performance standards.
That test, known as the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test, has earned nationwide fame recently for all the wrong reasons. The Atlanta Public Schools system is now under scrutiny and ridicule for CRCT cheating.
The CRCT was administered this year in grades three through eight covering reading, English/language arts, math, science and social studies. The first two grades were excluded this year due to lack of state funding.
Find out what's happening in Tuckerwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The CRCTs, along with other standardized tests, have proven highly controversial. Critics argue that too much time is spent teaching to the test and that it is not equitable to hold an otherwise passing student back because of one failed test.
For example, the CRCT reading test must be passed by students in the third grade in order to be promoted; both reading and math must be passed by fifth and eighth graders for automatic promotion, according to the Georgia Department of Education.
Find out what's happening in Tuckerwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Others maintain that our schools need to do a better job of preparing students for college or the workforce. They complain about grade inflation and social promotions as a reason for the CRCT.
Below are the recently released passing percentages for Tucker-area elementary schools and Tucker Middle School, followed by the DeKalb County average:
Brockett
Reading
English
Math
Science
Social Studies
3rd
82.3
75.8
62.9
66.1
77.4
4th
83.1
75.9
72.3
67.1
68.3
5th
92.5
97.0
93.9
94.1
89.6
Idlewood
Reading
English
Math
Science
Social Studies
3rd
68.3
67.5
51.9
50.4
50.8
4th
74.8
72.4
57.7
59.9
63.8
5th
78.4
81.4
61.2
50.0
42.9
Livsey
Reading
English
Math
Science
Social Studies
3rd
93.8
91.7
83.3
87.5
91.7
4th
96.1
96.1
84.3
92.2
90.2
5th
95.8
97.9
91.7
93.8
91.7
Midvale
Reading
English
Math
Science
Social Studies
3rd
76.8
78.6
71.0
67.6
70.4
4th
87.0
79.7
73.9
72.5
72.5
5th
87.5
89.1
84.4
80.0
75.4
Tucker Middle
Reading
English
Math
Science
Social Studies
6th
95.0
88.1
66.1
59.7
61.6
7th
88.5
89.2
76.5
73.0
62.4
8th
93.2
88.0
63.8
48.2
55.7
DeKalb County Average
Reading
English
Math
Science
Social Studies
3rd
82.3
78.3
67.1
69.1
70.5
4th
80.2
79.1
67.4
66.4
64.2
5th
84.6
86.2
76.6
64.8
55.8
6th
89.3
84.4
65.6
57.8
57.6
7th
82.6
84.8
76.2
68.1
56.5
8th
91.5
87.1
65.8
50.1
57.3
The preceding numbers indicate Livsey is the best performing elementary school in the Tucker group. However, another possible driving factor behind these test scores is the percentage of students receiving free or reduced price school meals, an indicator of poverty.
For example, the Georgia DOE reported Livsey had 15 percent of its students getting discounted meals while Idlewood, which generally had the lowest scores, had a staggering 91 percent receiving such meals.
Students, teachers and administrators are under tremendous pressure to achieve strong CRCT scores because of the consequences of not meeting adequate yearly progress standards. The No Child Left Behind Act, which evaluates the CRCT, just keeps getting stricter as well.
Is it all worth it?