Congratulations to Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School for earning the Bronze Award for the greatest gain in students meeting and exceeding standards. Under the auspices of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement and as mandated by state law and No Child Left Behind legislation, Georgia is required to develop a Single Statewide Accountability System (SSAS). This group monitors student achievement and presents the award earned by W-WCHS and other schools within the state who meet certain criteria for gains in student achievement.

In order to win this award, ­W WCHS demonstrated gains in the results of the two most recent administrations of the Georgia High School Graduation Test. At testing, the students were juniors taking the English/Language Arts, Science, Social Studies and Math portions of the test for the first time. Bronze Award status is achieved by the school not being on the “Needs Improvement” list for adequate yearly progress (AYP). At the same time, twenty percent or more of our students exceeded standards, based on their performance of the Georgia High School Graduation tests. W-WCHS also placed in the 95th percentile of greatest gains in student scores on the above-mentioned tests.

According to Principal Steve Echols, “Only 20 High Schools in the state were recognized at any level within the meets or exceeds category. We were one of the 20.” SSAS also has another category, “Highest Performance.” There were 56 highs schools in the state that made that list. Greenbrier, Lakeside, Evans, Davidson Magnet, and A.R. Johnson Magnet in the Augusta/ Columbia County area earned a spot on that list.

For more information, visit http://www.gaosa.org/ssas.aspx. Congratulations students, teachers and staff for doing what it takes to win this award!