While academic performance has increased across the state, Dunwoody High School academics are sliding. A majority of the high schools in Georgia rank higher than Dunwoody HS in Coordinate Algebra.
Statewide Milestones Results
Since the beginning of the Milestones 5 years ago, Georgia students, on average, have the highest scores ever recorded. 96% of Georgia students’ average scores were higher or held steady.
DeKalb Milestones Results
2019 Milestone Results Summary shows roughly the same trend as the state. The achievement levels in DeKalb still lag the state but we’ve seen some improvement. Proficient Learners are at grade level. A majority of DeKalb’s students are below grade level in every high school subject measured by the Milestones.
Dunwoody HS Milestones Results
Dunwoody HS 2016-2019 Milestones Compared to All School Districts In State
The view below converts average test scores for each school into a state percentile rank. This view is helpful for comparing performance over time, across grades and subjects, and to the rest of the state. The percentiles show a school’s relative position among all Georgia schools.
Dunwoody HS was one of the highest academically achieving high schools in the state in 2016. The relative achievement results for DHS have fallen across the board. Coordinate Algebra results went from being in the 92nd percentile to being in the 41st percentile.
Datasource: Milestones State Percentile Ranks 2019
RAW DATA
Here are the links to the raw data for the last few years.
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
Stan,
Thank you very much. Does the District have access to demographic information that matches up with test performance? If so, does there appear to be a relationship between characteristics like Parents Education Level, Fluency in English, and Household Income with student performance on these tests.
To follow that up, we have been hearing a lot about the exploding student population in the Dunwoody Cluster. Are we experiencing growth evenly across all demographics? If we were to look at current demographics and compare to 5 and 10 years ago, what changes are we seeing in our community.
Finally, do demographics seem to be helping or hurting our school performance? If demographics are hurting than perhaps that explains much of the decline in test scores. If demographics are helping, educational performance might be even worse than test scores make it out to be.
Stan, you have done an amazing job with all this information. I know of not one other person ever in the school system who can do all the things you do. You are the only person who is qualified to lead this school system because only you understand “it”! We are in a terrible situation that has been terrible since about 1975. All this wasted money on big salaries is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many, many levels of corruption and deep stupidity.
Agree with “concerned citizen”. I have seen it all in the DeKalb School system…
It’s not just Dunwoody. Look at Chamblee. Its gone down dramatically over the years. It used to be a top 10 high school in the state, but the latest rankings had it well off that pace.
This is not just a Dunwoody issue, Stan “Mr. Dunwoody” Jester. It’s a systematic issue.
Chamblee scores are next.
So many variables, but I would credit block scheduling, larger class sizes, and soft toss joint enrollment classes at college for part of the drop, along with teachers (and administrators) who emphasize style over substance
Edugator, In 2016 DHS had great scores and was on the block schedule, so I don’t it’s that. Elementary school class sizes have been trending down … so I suspect high school class sizes have been going down as well. Unless you’re talking about “Class of ’23” kind of “class”. The school enrollment has been going up. We obviously know what dual enrollment is. I’ve never heard of “soft toss joint enrollment”.
The lowest scores are 9th grade tests- where students are transitioning from middle school, they have the highest #of Milestones tests (3) in one year. Having bigger class sizes hurts, and the ESOL population needs time to acquire the skills to be successful at those tests. Your 11th and 12th grade tests remain in the top 15%.
Still: slipping means there’s work to be done.
Simply put- a good HS AP class is usually more demanding than a similar class at Perimeter College. Ask the kids why they go there- they’ll tell you.