APS 5th grade students improve their performance on the 2011 state writing test

APS students improved their performance on the 2011 Georgia Grade 5 Writing Assessment with 77 percent scoring at the meets or exceeds standards levels.  This performance represents a 5 percentage point increase from last year’s results.

The mean score for APS students on this year’s 5^th grade writing test was 213, while the state’s mean score was 214.  Additionally, minority students narrowed the achievement gap with other students by 4 and 6 percentage points.

“This consistent incremental performance improvement over time validates the effectiveness of the urban school reform programs that have been established in APS schools over the past decade,” said Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall.  “Writing involves producing a tangible product that demonstrates a student’s ability to read with comprehension and clearly articulate content and meaning in a grammatically correct fashion.”

Earlier this year, APS 8^th grade students also improved their performance by 4 percentage points and eliminated the achievement gap between the district and students around the state on the Georgia Grade 8 Writing Assessment.  Eighty-three percent of APS 8^th grade students scored at the meets or exceeds standards levels on the 2011 writing test.

The writing exam requires students to respond to prompts on either an informational, narrative or persuasive writing topic.  Each test is scored on the basis of ideas, organization, style and conventions.