Scores just released from the Fall 2005 writing portion of the Georgia High School Graduation Test show that Fayette’s 11th graders have mastered strong writing skills.

Systemwide, 97 percent of all first time test takers passed the writing test earning a combined score of 536 – six points above the state score.

The highest scoring school in the county was Sandy Creek with a score of 539 (a 98 percent pass rate) followed by Starr’s Mill with 538. Scores for the county’s other three high schools include Fayette County 532, McIntosh 536 and Whitewater 535.

The high school Writing Assessment measures student mastery of essential writing skills. Students must write a persuasive essay on an assigned topic. Trained professionals independently judge each essay on four qualities or "domains" of effective writing: content/organization, style, conventions of written language and sentence formation.