All Columbus High Juniors Passed the GHSGT
Four components of the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) were
administered March 17-20, 2008, to all Georgia juniors. The juniors
took the fifth component, the writing test, for the first time in the fall.
Columbus High principal Susan Bryant was recently informed that all Columbus
High juniors passed all five parts of the test. She said, “This is the
first junior class of Columbus High School and the first high school in the
Muscogee County School District to earn a 100 percent pass rate for each
subject area of the GHSGT.”
Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT)
In 1991, the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation which requires
that curriculum-based assessments be administered in the eleventh grade for
graduation purposes. All students who entered the ninth grade since
July 1, 1994, must pass all five parts of the GSHGT to earn a high school
diploma. These requirements apply to all students, regardless of the type of
diploma or diploma seal they are seeking.
The GHSGT tests juniors in the areas of:
► English and Language Arts
► Science
► Mathematics
► Social Studies
► Writing
Students take the GHSGT for the first time in their junior year. The
writing test is administered for the first time in the fall. The four
content area tests are given to juniors for the first time in the spring of
each year. Students have five opportunities to take each of the tests by the
end of the twelfth grade.
Preparation at Columbus High
At Columbus High, a predictor test was given in the fall to juniors as
one means of identifying those who appear to be “at risk” for failing the
science and social studies tests. Principal Bryant says, “We also examine
the juniors' End of Course Test (EOCT) results in biology, physical science,
government, and U. S. History and identify students who earned scores in the
low 70’s. Finally, we examine the grades that our current juniors earned as
ninth- and tenth-graders in biology, physical science, government, and U.S.
History, again identifying “at risk” students for failing the GHSGT on their
first attempt.”
Tutorials were established in February for these identified students.
Selected Columbus High teachers taught these tutorials on Saturdays for
three hours. The GHSGT study packets were also distributed to all juniors at
the end of January at a special assembly designed to focus the students’
attention on the GHSGT and its importance. Science and social studies
teachers incorporate GHSGT warm-ups at the beginning of each class period to
provide continuous review.
