CRCT results for local school systems won’t be released for another couple of weeks, but state trends show that students improved in several subject areas from 2011 to 2012, but continued to struggle with math and science.

The state 2012 Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT), given to students in grades three through eight, showed improvement in students meeting or exceeding standards on 20 of the 30 content-area tests.

Carroll County Schools Superintendent Scott Cowart said he and his staff are excited that the numbers are moving in the right direction.

“We won’t know until we get the actual, real results back in a few weeks, but I think our results will reflect the statewide trend,” he said. “All we’ve seen for us are raw numbers. But we’re excited we’re continuing to make progress. The test scores and the patterns are moving up.”

Statewide, the greatest gains between 2011 and 2012 were seen in eight grade science (up 7 percentage points) and fifth grade social studies (up 6 percentage points). There were four decreases statewide: third grade science (down 2 percentage points), fourth grade math (down one percentage point), fifth grade math (down 3 percentage points) and eighth grade math (down one percentage point).

“The best news in the 2012 CRCT report is that more of our students are exceeding the standards,” said State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge. “Teachers are doing a great job teaching the more rigorous Georgia Performance Standards, and they are to be applauded for raising expectations for all students.”

Cowart said his system tries to focus on the development of their students rather than test results.

“We’re focused on getting good test scores back, but that’s not the only thing we do,” he said. “While we’re interested in scores, we pay attention to the entirety of children’s experience and learning.”

Cowart commended the system’s teachers for their work in the students’ scores.

“Teachers continue to deliver good instruction in the classroom, and these results should reflect that,” he said.

Cowart said he expects certain schools in the county to “top out again,” while some may see less improvement.

The CRCT determines if students did not meet, met or exceeded expectations in the subject areas of English/language arts, reading, science, math and social studies. The test also helps determine Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for each school.