Eighty percent of eligible students who participated in the intervention received passing scores on the four sections tested during the spring administration of the Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT), and all participating students received passing scores on the English Language Arts and Math sections of the GHSGT.
The students who were invited to participate in the study were 11th-grade African-American students and were first-time test takers on the Georgia High School Graduation Tests during the 2007-2008 school year.
Adequate Yearly Progress data from the 2007-2008 school year and individual test data from the intervention group show favorable results for increased achievement among African-American students on the Georgia High School Graduation Tests. Twelve out of 15 students (80%) who participated in the intervention received passing scores on all four sections tested during the spring administration of the GHSGT.
AYP data from 2006-2007 revealed that African-American students at the target school were underachieving at alarming rates on the Georgia High School Graduation Tests when compared to their White peers and to the annual measurable objectives of AYP under No Child Left Behind (U.S.
These requirements apply to all students, regardless of the type of diploma or diploma seal they seek (Georgia High School Graduation Tests, 2006).
The data reported for the high school graduation tests are based on scores of 11th grade regular program students and represent the percentage of test takers passing the indicated section of the test on the first administration.
After controlling for student population, area population density, area income, school revenue, and ethnic make-up, school systems with more master's-qualified teachers fail to perform better on the Georgia High School Graduation Tests, ceteris paribus.
Then they are just a wish list." The jury is still out on the
high school graduation tests, though concerned observers such as Anne Wheelock in Massachusetts have been collecting and analyzing data on school dropouts before ninth grade.
And, according to the research, he says that students who participate in career technical courses do better on Georgia
high school graduation tests.
High school graduation tests do not appear to have big effects on test scores when other standards-based reforms are controlled.