MARIETTA — Cobb County School District students improved in all areas of the 2012 End-of-Course Tests, and Marietta students improved on all but two of the tests, according to data released by the Georgia Department of Education on Tuesday.

View the Scores by district. 

Cobb and Marietta students outscored state averages in all but two areas.

In 2000, the state mandated that students take End-of-Course Tests in ninth through 12th grades in 11 subject areas: Mathematics I, Mathematics II, Georgia Performing Standards Algebra, GPS Geometry, U.S. History, Economics/Business/Free Enterprise, Biology, Physical Science, Ninth Grade Literature and Composition, and American Literature and Composition.

GPS Algebra, GPS Geometry and Coordinate Algebra will not be added to the testing scores until next school year, but some students in Cobb Schools took the GPS Algebra and GPS Geometry tests this year.

In Mathematics I, both Cobb and Marietta improved over their 2011 scores. In Cobb, 96.8 percent of students passed, up from 70 percent in 2011. About 77 percent of Marietta students passed, up from 71 percent last year. Both districts beat the state average of 65 percent.

In Mathematics II, Cobb rose to 72.5 percent from 2011’s 72 percent, while Marietta dropped nearly 10 percentage points, from 88 percent in 2011 to 77.5 percent this year. Still, both districts far exceeded the state’s 54 percent.

In Cobb, 61.5 percent of students passed the GPS Algebra test, just short of the state’s standard of 63 percent. Only one student in Marietta took the test, so no data was available.

Cobb fell short on the Geometry test, with only 29.2 percent of students passing, compared to 74 percent for the state. Scores were not reported for Marietta.

In U.S. History, both districts improved their scores and topped the state, which recorded 68 percent. Cobb had 80.3 percent of students passing, beating 2011’s 76 percent, and Marietta had 69.4 percent, up over 69 percent last year.

Both districts also outscored the state, which recorded 77 percent, and last year’s scores in Economics/Business/Free Enterprise. In Cobb, 88.5 percent of students passed, compared to 83 percent in 2011, and Marietta had 77.5 percent passing, compared to 76 percent last year.

Both districts outscored the state, which had 73 percent, this year in Biology. According to the data, 82.5 percent of Cobb students passed, up from 75 percent in 2011. In Marietta, 72 percent passed, compared to 68 percent in 2011.

In Physical Science, Cobb saw a more than 3 percentage point increase, with 93.3 percent of students passing, up from 90 percent last year. However, Marietta fell short of both the state average and last year’s score, with 67.4 percent passing, down from 2011’s 71 percent and the state’s 77 percent.

Cobb and Marietta students who took the Ninth Grade Literature and Composition test improved over last year’s scores and beat the state average In Cobb, 89 percent passed, compared to 87 percent in 2011. Marietta students improved 1 percentage point over 2011, from 84 percent to 85 percent. The state’s average is 84 percent.

In American Literature and Composition, both districts improved over last year and the state. About 95.1 percent of county students passed in 2012, compared to 92 percent in 2011 and the state’s percentage of 89. In Marietta, 95.3 percent passed, compared to 91 percent in 2011.

Cobb Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa said that while there is room for improvement, he is happy with his students’ performance on the tests.

“We had pretty good growth,” he said. “We’re pretty pleased, especially in Osborn and Pebblebrook.”

Hinojosa said there is still some gaps in literacy that need to be addressed, but his staff is working on that. He will present the data to the public and school board during an August board meeting.

He also pointed out that the scores improved despite having two fewer school days and bigger classes.

Marietta Superintendent Dr. Emily Lembeck was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

The EOCT is administered once a student completes of one of the above courses. A student’s final grade in the course is determined using the EOCT as follows:

n For students enrolled in ninth grade before July 1, 2011, the EOCT counts as 15 percent of the final grade.

n For students enrolled in ninth grade on July 1, 2011, or after, the EOCT counts as 20 percent of the final grade.

The test is administered in winter, spring and summer, in addition to online versions in August, September, October, November, January, February and March. Re-tests are given during the summer months.

The EOCT can be administered via paper-and-pencil assessments or in an online format. Paper-and-pencil assessments are only available during the main administrations, while online assessments are available for all sessions. Each test is administered in two 60-minute sections.

The school-by-school scores should be released around the end of the month.

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