High School Graduation Tests Scores Increase

The majority of students at Snellville's three high schools -- Brookwood, Shiloh and South Gwinnett -- scored above state averages on the 2011 Georgia High School Graduation Tests, according to data from the Georgia Department of Education.

The tests are given to public high school students for the first time in the spring of their junior year. All four portions of the test, plus the Georgia High School Writing Test, must be passed to earn a full diploma. Students can retake the tests as many times as needed to pass.

Across the state, 73.7 percent of test-takers passed all four tests, but in Gwinnett County 83.8 percent of students passed all four tests: science, social studies, language arts and math. In Snellville, Brookwood High and Shiloh High bested both state and county averages, with 92 percent and 84 percent (respectively) passing all four tests.

In general, state agency reported that scores were up in science, social studies and language arts over past year. There was no comparison in math, which used the more rigorous Georgia Performance Standards-based test for the first time this year.

"The results of the 2011 GHSGT are very encouraging,” State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge said in a released statement. "These scores give us a good indicator that students and teachers continue to rise to the challenge of a more rigorous curriculum.”

In Snellville, Brookwood High School students scored the highest, with 91.7 percent of test-takers passing all four exams:

• 97 percent passed language arts, with 45.4 percent at advanced proficiency and 31.1 percent at the honors level.
• 97 percent passed math, with 46.6 percent at advanced proficiency and 32.2 percent at the honors level.
• 99 percent passed science, with 44.4 percent at advanced proficency and 42.9 percent at the honors level.
• 94 percent passed social studies, with 226.7 percent at advanced proficiency and 40.4 percent at the honors level.

Shiloh High School had 84.1 percent of test-takers pass all four exams:

• 93 percent passed language arts, with 44.2 percent at the advanced level and 11.0 at the honors level.
• 89 percent passed math, with 38.3 percent at the advanced level and 10.5 percent at the honors level.
• 92 percent passed science, with 49 percent at the advanced level and 14 percent at the honors level.
• 90 percent passed science, with 28.2 percent at the advanced level and 30.7 percent at the honors level.

At South Gwinnett, 83.3 percent of students passed all four exams:

• In language arts, 95 percent passed, with 41.4 percent at advanced and 17.9 percent at honors levels.
• In math, 92 percent passed, with 51.1 percent at advanced and 11.1 percent at the honors levels.
• In science, 94 percent passed, with 51.2 percent at the advanced level and 13.2 at the honors level.
• And, in social studies, 82 percent passed, with 19.9 percent at advanced and 20.2 percent at honors levels.

Gwinnett County percentages were 94 percent in language arts, 96 percent in science, 88 percent in social studies and 90 percent in math. Those scoring at advanced or honors levels county-wide: 65.5 percent in language arts, 62.3 percent in math, 73.9 percent in science and 55.4 percent in social studies.

Statewide, 91 percent of Georgia test-takers passed the language arts exam (up one percentage point), 93 percent passed in science (up three points), and 80 percent passed in social studies (up two points). In math, 84 percent of the students passed; the decrease was expected from last year’s score of 91 percent on the Quality Core Curriculum-based exam.