PEACH COUNTY, Ga. — Peach County Schools and dozens of other Georgia school districts are being recognized for the students' performance on the Milestones Test.
Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods presented Byron Elementary, Hunt Elementary and Kay Road Elementary Schools banners for growth in third grade reading.
Fort Valley Middle School received a math leader banner for the growing number of middle schoolers taking high school math.
When we spoke to Woods last week, he said this is the second year the state recognized schools for improving Georgia Milestones scores.
"We are celebrating our literacy leaders for outstanding progress whether that means we're growing where we want to be or either we're performing at the academic level that we want to see," he said.
Hunt Elementary fourth grade teacher Kristen Patterson teaches all subjects. She said she prepares her students early in the year for the Milestones by timing their weekly unit tests and assignments.
"I do give them a time starting about October, November to go ahead and get them ready for that timed test, so that way they know what to expect,” she said. “I tell them to look at the clock to make sure that you watch your time. I put the time on the board, all that kind of stuff."
Patterson said it's important to make learning fun for students so they are not as nervous when it’s time for testing.
"We don't want them to think that they're just a test score,” she said. “They are children. They're going to learn. So, they need to have fun with what they're learning."
Woods said the Georgia Department of Education expanded to recognizing middle and high schools too because reading and math skills continue beyond fifth grade.
"We appreciate the work that our teachers are doing and also it gives us a chance to look and say, ‘Where do we need to improve or where can we get better?’" he said.
Peach County saw a 1.8% increase in their reading scores from last year. They saw an 11.3% increase in math proficiency.