Last week was a busy week for all Coweta County elementary and middle schools as students worked diligently on the Criterion Reference Competency Test.

The state test – known as the CRCT – is given to all students in grades 1 through 8, and tests student proficiency in Georgia curriculum areas like English/Language Arts, Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies.

The test itself is an important tool to help teachers gauge student performance, but it has grown in importance in recent years because of its use in grades 3, 5 and 8 to determine if students can be promoted to the next grade, and its use in determining Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the federal No Child Left Behind act.

Student preparedness for the week of testing is important, as is student attendance during the testing week. Because of that, schools went the extra mile in making sure students came to school ready last week.

Newnan Crossing Elementary School promoted student attendance and student commitment by sponsoring a bike drawing on Monday, April 24, after the CRCT testing was complete.

The Newnan Crossing Elementary PTO donated four bikes for the drawing and PTO President Mike Chambers and his son Corey Chambers donated one bike. One bike was awarded for each grade level (1st – 5th), and students awaited the drawing eagerly after a week of exams.

Newnan Crossing wasn’t the only school to do so. Although daily attendance is usually in the 95 percent range, schools throughout Coweta County emphasized the importance of attendance to parents and students, and worked to give students any extra help they needed to prepare for the tests.

The efforts paid off, said Associate Superintendent John Dunn, who said some schools reported only a few student absences during testing days. Some schools held “CRCT dances” or celebrations the day after testing issues; all sent out reminders to parents or notices in newsletters.

“It’s important,” said Dunn. 95 percent test participation is required under No Child Left Behind. “We typically have 99 to 100 percent, but the schools have to be sure they meet that in all areas.”

Schools also helped students prepare by subject review leading up to the tests, and tutoring for students who needed help in specific areas, both in-school and at specially-offered times like before school and on Saturdays.

Many schools held CRCT parent nights, during which parents were given information about the test and how to help their child prepare, and were even given an online sample of the CRCT so they could experience the testing first hand.

National standardized tests – as opposed to state tests such as the CRCT – are held generally in the fall. Though several types of tests are administered throughout the year, the spring is a “test-heavy” period for school, said Dunn.

The CRCT is held after spring break, but high school juniors sit for the Georgia High School Graduation Test pre-break, and that test, too, is used to determine Adequate Yearly Progress for high schools and must be successfully completed before a student can graduate. This week, high school students are also completing state-mandated End of Course Tests (EOCT) in several subjects, which count for up to 15 percent of their final grade.

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