Criterion-Referenced Competency Test scores for Hall County Schools slightly increased from last year, but Gainesville City Schools saw drops in reading and English/language arts in most grade levels.

“I’ve been concerned about it from the start, and the principals have been disappointed,” Gainesville Superintendent Merrianne Dyer said after scores were released Wednesday afternoon. “It’s a direct result, I think, of the reduced number of people serving English-language learners in different models. I thought they might not produce the same results.”

The schools saw fewer support teachers and a higher enrollment of students who need extra help — those in high-poverty households or who speak English as a second language. With continued economic upheaval, jobless family members moved in with relatives in Gainesville, increasing the number of students in those subgroups.

“We can only give so much service and could be giving more service hours if we had more people. We used to do that,” she said. “I’ve been bracing myself all year for these scores.”

Gainesville City Schools decided to focus on math scores this year after the state implemented new, tougher standards in that area.

Hall County Schools show slight improvement for most grade levels in math, and Gainesville City Schools improved in half of the grades tested.

“Overall, we were very pleased with the math scores at the middle school, where we worked so hard,” Dyer said. Students, especially English-language learners, tend to struggle with math word problems, she said, which is connected to the lower reading scores.

School officials are still waiting for this year’s summer retest scores to make any comparisons or determine their next moves.

“Until we have our retest scores factored in, it will be impossible to make meaningful comparisons to historical data,” said Hall County Schools Superintendent William Schofield. “This will happen in the next several weeks.”

Statewide, students improved in most content areas. Only three — second-grade reading, second-grade English/language arts and first-grade mathematics — showed decreases.

This year, the scores released include sixth and seventh grade social studies data, which were invalidated in previous years. In both cases, the test was more rigorous than in years past.

“I’m really pleased, especially considering the financial situation. Our teachers are doing a remarkable job managing through the crisis,” State Superintendent Kathy Cox told The Times. “I’m concerned about the future ... and I worry about teacher morale. You can’t keep asking people to do, do, do without giving them some support.”

The scores are used to help determine Adequate Yearly Progress, a federal measurement of a school’s performance under the No Child Left Behind Act.

But Schofield noted some of the drawbacks to looking at CRCT scores as the only indicator of a student’s performance.

“I continue to believe Georgia faces a challenge due to the fact that our state-developed criterion-referenced tests do not measure individual student growth,” he said. “This is the rationale behind our Hall County School District Balanced Scorecard of Teaching and Learning, which utilizes a variety of metrics both in the area of basic competency and academic rigor.”

Dyer also pointed out the need for new expectations for state curriculum. Each year, the state requests waivers from the federal Department of Education for subgroups — students with disabilities and English-language learners — who do not perform as well on the tests. This year, the state didn’t receive the waivers, likely causing many schools to fail AYP.

“Those schools may have done overall better than they did last year. You may have increased the overall achievement of your students but may not be designated as making AYP,” Dyer said. “It doesn’t mean the schools in Georgia are declining overall, but the rules have changed.”