How did BCSD fifth graders most recently fare in "reading?"

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first of several articles that will take a closer look at the Baldwin County School District's most recent Georgia Milestones testing results, which were released to the public over the weekend.

The state of Georgia currently has 159 "county school systems" and 21 "city school systems."

Out of those 180 total school systems, the Baldwin County School District finished 173rd in "reading status" at the fifth-grade level in the "2022-2023 Georgia Milestones End-of-Grade Assessment."

Among the seven "city" and "county" school systems in Georgia that finished below the BCSD in fifth-grade reading, the Sumter County School District is the only one remotely similar to Baldwin, in terms of size and student enrollment. For perspective, Baldwin tested 359 fifth graders, while Baker County tested 21, Dooly County 76, Hancock County 49, Macon County 73, Sumber County 268, Talbot County 38 and Taylor County 91.

Out of the 84 Georgia school districts to test at least 250 fifth graders in reading, the Baldwin County School District finished 83rd, ahead of only Sumter County.

The Georgia Milestones Test is administered each school year to public school students in grades 3-8. The results were released to the public over the weekend, and you can check out the data for yourself by CLICKING HERE.

Baldwin2k News chose to focus on fifth grade because it's the final year of elementary school. For whatever it's worth, BCSD fourth grade finished 164th out of 180 school systems (63.1 percent of BCSD students tested at "below grade level" in "reading status), while BCSD third grade finished 161st out of 180 (53.4 percent of BCSD students tested at "below grade level" in "reading status").

In terms of Baldwin County's next-door neighbors, here's how those public school systems fared in reading at the fifth-grade level:

• Baldwin – 55.7 percent of students below grade level

• Hancock – 65.3 percent of students below grade level

• Jones – 24.9 percent of students below grade level

• Putnam – 38 percent of students below grade level

• Washington – 44.3 percent of students below grade level

• Wilkinson – 48.3 percent of students below grade level

On the flip side, a total of 20 Georgia school districts finished at 80 percent or above, in terms of fifth graders reading at "grade level or above." Those were Atkinson County, Brantley County, Bryan County, Camden County, Columbia County, Effingham County, Fayette County, Forsyth County, Lee County, Lowndes County, Mitchell County, Oconee County, Schley County, Bremen City, Buford City, Chickamauga City, Decatur City, Jefferson City, Social Circle City and Trion City.

According to the Georgia Department of Education's website, the "Georgia Milestones Assessment System is designed to provide information about how well students are mastering the state-adopted content standards in the core content areas of English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies... The system is designed to send consistent signals about students' preparedness for the next level, be it the next grade, course, or endeavor, such as entering college or beginning a career after leaving the K-12 educational system."

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