Fayette County students taking the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) topped the state average again this year and bested their own scores in English and science over last year.

School system Public Information Officer Melinda Berry-Dreisbach said Fayette County continues to show much higher pass rates than students statewide in all subjects. Those include English Language Arts at 96 percent for Fayette compared to the 87 percent statewide average; a 96 percent pass rate in mathematics in Fayette compared to the 91 percent state average; in science, Fayette students showed a 94 percent pass rate compared to the 85 percent average statewide; and in social studies, 94 percent of Fayette students passed the test compared to 82 percent across Georgia.

Berry-Dreisbach said more students scored in the “honors” category in the English and science portions, up 4 points to 21 percent and up 2 points to 22 percent, respectively, over 2008. The English and science exams are aligned to the state’s more rigorous curriculum, she said.

Pass rates also increased in most sub-groups with English language learners posting higher scores in all subjects. The most dramatic increases were in English, up 23 points to 90 percent; science, up 24 points to 69 percent; and social studies, up 35 points to 64 percent, Berry-Dreisbach said.

The pass rate for Hispanic students rose in both English and science, up 7 points to 90 percent and up four points to 87 percent, respectively, and the pass rate for black students rose in social studies, up two points to 90 percent.

School system Assessment Coordinator Julie Turner credited the high scores to the combined effort of the high schools, teachers, parents and students.

“Several of our high schools have worked the schedules to build in a 20-to-30-minute period to do remediation with the kids that didn’t pass the test the first time or are in jeopardy of not passing. I give a lot of credit to the high schools. And teachers are working hard to implement the curriculum and are doing a fantastic job,” Turner said, also noting the significant work by students and the participation by parents in the academic success of their children.

The GHSGT is given to 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 in order for a student to receive a full diploma from a Georgia public school. Students can retake the GHSGT as many times as they like if they do not pass specific exams.

Referencing the test results, Superintendent John DeCotis said the ongoing aim of the school system is to find ways to produce increasingly higher graduation test scores.

“We always look at the results and try to address the areas of weakness. We’re always striving to have our pass rate go up. So we put a lot of our resources into trying to raise those scores,” DeCotis said.