Crews, Five Forks Achieve High Marks in 8th Grade Writing Test

Snellville-area middle-schoolers had some of the best scores in the state on this year’s Grade 8 State Writing Test, according to the Gwinnett County school system.

Crews and Five Forks middle schools, which are both in the Brookwood Cluster, were state-ranked in both mean scaled scores and percentage of students exceeding the standard.

Crews was 17th in exceeding percentage and 18th in mean score. Five Forks was 18nd and 22nd, respectively.

More than 13,000 Gwinnett students took the test, which is a promotion requirement for eighth-graders in the county system.

In all, 10 Gwinnett County middle schools had mean scores in the top 25 in Georgia:

• Osborne, 1st (249); Twin Rivers, 5th (239); North Gwinnett, 8th (239); McConnell, 11th (237); Trickum, 13th (236); Couch, 14th (236); Crews, 18th (234); Pinckneyville, 21st (233); Five Forks, 22nd (233); Creekland, 23rd (232).

The average mean score in Gwinnett was 227.

Nine Gwinnett schools ranked in the top 20 in Georgia in percentage of eighth-graders exceeding state standards on the writing test:

• Osborne, 1st (42.3 percent); Twin Rivers, 6th (28.4); North Gwinnett, 7th (28.4); McConnell, 11th (27.7); Couch, 12th (27.3); Trickum, 14th (25.2); Pinckneyville, 16th (24.9); Crews, 17th (24.4); Five Forks, 18th (23.4).

About the test:  (From Gwinnett County Schools) The 8th grade state writing assessment measures a student’s ability to communicate in writing using an assigned prompt. The genres assessed in 8th grade are expository or persuasive writing. Students must demonstrate development of the topic; good organization of their ideas; use of language and vocabulary to engage the reader; and proper sentence structure, grammar, and mechanics. The skills reflected in the content of the test are included in the GCPS Academic Knowledge and Skills curriculum.