Student Performance on the Rise!

The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) released Georgia Milestones (GMAS) scores from the 2025-26 SY today that show SCCPSS students increased scores for proficiency and content mastery across all subjects and nearly all grade levels. Reading on Grade Level and ELA results were not part of the August 6^th release because the 2025-2026 school year marked the first administration of Georgia Milestones English Language Arts assessments aligned to the state’s new K-12 English Language Arts Standards. GaDOE says additional test development activities must be completed before ELA scores can be calculated and reported. They are expected to be released sometime this fall.

Performance highlights for Savannah-Chatham County Public School students include:

• SCCPSS outpaced the State in year-over-year Content Mastery growth across every assessed grade band and content area, demonstrating that our students are improving at a faster rate than the state overall.
• Middle grades demonstrated remarkable momentum, with Content Mastery increasing 8.5 percentage points in Science and 8.0 percentage points in Social Studies, substantially exceeding both the state and our comparison districts.
• High school Biology posted a 6.2-point increase in Content Mastery, outperforming state gains and reflecting strong growth in science achievement.
• Mathematics improved across every level—elementary, middle, and high school—with increases in both proficiency and Content Mastery. Elementary mathematics matched the comparison group’s growth with a 4.6-point increase in Content Mastery.
• School-level improvement was widespread, with 89% of SCCPSS schools improving Content Mastery and/or proficiency in at least one assessed area, including 100% of our K-8 and middle schools. Additionally, 43% of our schools exceeded the state’s Content Mastery score in one or more assessed areas.

SCCPSS Superintendent Dr. Denise Watts said, “Our results provide encouraging evidence that our work is moving in the right direction. I am proud of the hard work our district staff are doing to make certain our students are prepared for unlimited possibilities in their future. That hard work is reflected in these scores showing improvement across multiple subject areas.  Of course, while extremely proud of the progress we have made, we know there is a great deal of work that lies ahead and we are committed to continue our efforts to build on these gains.”

SCCPSS results align with overall scores that showed improvements across the state of Georgia. State School Superintendent Richard Woods states, “These results reflect the hard work taking place every day in Georgia’s classroom. Our teachers, school leaders, district teams, students, and families deserve tremendous credit for the progress we’re seeing in math, science, and social studies. At GaDOE, our focus has been simple: kids, classrooms, and common sense. Getting rid of Common Core and moving to Georgia-owned and Georgia-grown standards has led to clear improvements over time for our students. With that said, we know there’s still work to do, and we will not rest until the foundation is laid for every child to improve reading and mathematical skills.”

About Georgia Milestones

Students take Georgia Milestones End-of-Grade (EOG) assessments in grades 3-8, and Georgia Milestones End-of-Course (EOC) assessments in identified high school courses. The Georgia Milestones Assessment System meets the federal requirement that states test students in math and ELA in grades 3-8 and once in high school, and in science once per grade band (3-5, 6-9, and 10-12). Georgia Milestones undergoes a rigorous national peer review process to meet federal guidelines and requirements.

Georgia Milestones assesses student learning along four levels of achievement: Beginning Learners, Developing Learners, Proficient Learners, and Distinguished Learners. While Proficient Learners have demonstrated full mastery of the grade-level standards, Developing Learners have demonstrated partial mastery of grade-level standards and are considered in progress toward full proficiency.

The full SCCPSS GMAS report, including school-level data, can be found here.