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Dr. Butler clarifies Georgia Milestones and reading-level data for Catoosa students
Summary
Dr. Butler told the board the previously discussed ELA figures referred to Georgia Milestones achievement, not Lexile-based reading-on-grade-level measures; the district said Catoosa students outperform state and RESA averages across most grades and subjects and urged use of multiple measures to interpret results.
Dr. Butler addressed the board on June 3 to clarify recent reporting about student achievement on the Georgia Milestones and reading measures.
She said the ELA achievement numbers discussed at a prior meeting measured English language arts performance on the Georgia Milestones assessment and are distinct from the state’s reading-on-grade-level determination, which uses Lexile scores reported separately. Dr. Butler said Catoosa County students’ reading-on-grade-level rates range by grade but noted third grade at about 64% (comparable to state and regional averages) and eighth grade approaching 81% reading on or above grade level in the district’s data.
Using Georgia Department of Education accountability data, Dr. Butler said Catoosa County students outperformed the state and the local RESA averages in several subject areas this year: she reported Catoosa was about one point above the state in ELA overall, six points above in math, seven points above in science and seven points above in social studies. She emphasized that Georgia Milestones reports “proficient” as levels 3 and 4, and many students at level 2 are near proficient — sometimes missing a cut score by a question — so district officials monitor benchmark and classroom-based formative data as well to guide remediation.
Dr. Butler cautioned that several factors affect assessment results: COVID-era learning recovery, chronic absenteeism (which the presentation said has nearly doubled post-pandemic), recent budget-driven staff reductions and increased special-education and mental-health needs. She encouraged the public to consult the regional RESA data portal for the full file from the Georgia Department of Education and described district use of quarterly benchmarks, intervention teams and classroom formative assessments as the primary tools for monitoring student growth.
Dr. Butler summarized that, when interpreted with multiple measures, the district’s data indicate Catoosa County students outperform state and Northwest Georgia RESA averages across core content areas and that claims otherwise reflect misinterpretation of the separate measures.
