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Augusta, GA

Richmond County students, Ga. peers improve test scores

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Richmond County students, Ga. peers improve test scores


AUGUSTA, Ga. – Georgia students showed small improvements on state standardized tests in the 2022-2023 school year, but achievement remains below pre-pandemic levels, and slow progress suggests a full recovery could be years off.

The Georgia Department of Education released the annual Milestones test results Friday. Students in grades 3 through 8 as well as high schoolers take tests in math and English language arts, while a few grades take science and social studies tests. Federal law requires most of the tests.

IN RICHMOND COUNTY:

  • More than 12,000 Richmond County School System students completed the Georgia Milestones during the 2022-23 school year.
  • There were improvements in math, English language arts, algebra I and U.S. history. Students in third, fifth and seventh grades increased scores in math. Scores for students who took the English language arts assessment in third, sixth, and eighth grades also improved.
  • A.R. Johnson Engineering and Health Science Magnet, Cross Creek and Lucy C. Laney high schools reported the highest scores on the U.S. history end-of-course assessment.
  • Murphey Middle School reported the highest scores for students taking algebra I.

Officials with the state Department of Education focused on the positive, saying more grade levels showed achievement increases than decreases.

“We definitely do see trends of holding steady or improving in ELA and math, especially at the elementary and middle school levels,” Allison Timberlake, deputy state superintendent for assessment and accountability, told reporters Thursday in a briefing.

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Proficiency levels — the share of students meeting expectations for what they should know — averaged above 43% in English language arts and math in 2019, the last year before the pandemic. In 2023, they averaged around 39%, up about a percentage point on average from 2022.

The results show learning disruptions around COVID-19 have proved long-lasting, even though the vast majority of Georgia school districts offered in-person classes for all but about two months in the spring of 2020.

Of the 21 tests given across all grades and subjects, only seventh grade students in English language arts and eighth grade students in math scored at or above the same proficiency level as in 2019.

Achievement levels on four required high school tests in American literature and composition, algebra, biology and U.S. history generally declined, as did achievement levels for eighth grade students in science and social studies.

State officials said they are hiring 100 teachers to provide online tutoring to high school students, and also partnering with the AmeriCorps federal service program to provide math and reading tutoring to 5,000 students. Georgia is also expanding its offerings of formative assessments to help schools evaluate student achievement before the state tests. But many key decisions, including how to spend billions in federal pandemic aid, have largely been left to Georgia’s 180 school districts and independent charter schools.

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Officials in the state Department of Education have downplayed the importance of standardized testing under Republican state Superintendent Richard Woods. The high school tests had counted for 20% of a student’s grade in the course through 2023, but will only count for 10% of the grade going forward under a proposal pushed by Woods.

The test results will be used to assign A-to-F letter grades to schools and districts for the first time since 2019. The grading system was interrupted for multiple years. In 2020, there was no testing. In 2021, the shares of students taking the tests varied widely from school to school, making it generally invalid to compare 2021 and 2022 results at the school or district level, officials said.



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Augusta, GA

WATCH: Gun comes out during fight at Butler High, video shows

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WATCH: Gun comes out during fight at Butler High, video shows


AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A weapon was seized by school administrators after the apparent gun fell to the floor during a fight between students Tuesday at Butler High School.

Parents were told of the incident in a letter.

“Two students engaged in a fight in a classroom today during a class,” the letter stated. “During the altercation, students saw a weapon drop to the floor.”

The Richmond County School System didn’t address what kind of weapon it was, but a video on Facebook showed what appeared to be a gun.

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Administrators and Richmond County School System police responded immediately and secured the school for about 45 minutes while police investigated, parents were told.

The student was taken into custody and the incident was addressed following the Code of Student Conduct and Discipline.



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Augusta, GA

Police arrest suspect in Grovetown apartment complex shooting

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Police arrest suspect in Grovetown apartment complex shooting


GROVETOWN, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A suspect has been arrested in connection to an apartment complex shooting in Grovetown, officials announced Wednesday morning.

Isaiah Bautista, 20, of Augusta, was located near Windsor Spring Road and Meadowbrook Drive, still riding in the suspect vehicle that was observed fleeing the scene of the earlier shooting, Grovetown Police Department says.

Bautista had a firearm at the time of his arrest and had multiple outstanding felony warrants through both Richmond County and Reidsville, Ga., police say.

Bautista was transported to the Charles B. Webster Detention Center on the outstanding warrants.  Additional warrants will be secured by Grovetown Investigators for his charges regarding tonight’s shooting.

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This investigation continues as investigators are working to identify the second suspect.

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office assisted in apprehending Bautista.

The Grovetown Police Department says they received a 911 call Tuesday at 5:02 p.m. about a shooting at the 1000 block of Joiner Circle in Joiner Crossing Apartments in Grovetown.

Police Chief Jamey Kitchens told us he was on the scene around 5:34 p.m.

When officers arrived they discovered a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper chest.

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Officials say the victim was conscious when they arrived and is in a local hospital in surgery. He does not appear to have life-threatening injuries.

He tells us two unknown males entered the apartment, and one of the suspects fired several rounds hitting the victim once.

Officials say they responded Tuesday afternoon to Joiner Crossing Apartments in Grovetown.
Officials say they responded Tuesday afternoon to Joiner Crossing Apartments in Grovetown.(WRDW)

Officials used local cameras and doorbell cameras to capture the suspects fleeing on foot to a nearby vehicle and exiting the complex.

One of the suspects was wearing a mask and both were wearing dark-colored hoodies.

Multiple people were in the home at the time, including an infant who was within a few feet of the victim when he was shot. No other parties were injured.

They have a loose vehicle description and several leads are being pursued, according to Kitchens.

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Sean McKenzie

The victim was not a resident of the home where the incident occurred.

Kitchens wants the community to know that there is no danger to the community and that this appears to be a targeted attack.

A witness said she saw 17 police cars on the scene around 6 p.m. and that it appeared officers were searching up and down some nearby railroad tracks.

Police were clustered around one apartment in particular. The door was open and crime scene tape hung outside the entry.

Butler High School, Augusta, Ga.

Around 6:30 p.m., police brought out a child car seat and a diaper bag. The significance of those items wasn’t clear.

The incident comes amid an outbreak of violent crime that’s claimed about 200 lives in nearly three years across the CSRA.

The crime outbreak has affected communities large and small, but as the biggest city in the region, Augusta has been hit especially hard.

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Authorities have blamed much of the problem on gangs.

We are working to learn more information about the incident.



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Augusta, GA

Police respond to shooting at Grovetown apartment complex

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Police respond to shooting at Grovetown apartment complex


GROVETOWN, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Law enforcement officials are on the scene of a shooting incident at an apartment complex, according to the Grovetown Police Department.

No one was killed, and the victim was a male, according to authorities.

Officials say they responded Tuesday afternoon to Joiner Crossing Apartments in Grovetown.

Police Chief Jamey Kitchens told us he was on the scene around 5:34 p.m.

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Kitchens says it appears the victim was upstairs on the balcony of the apartment and went inside after he was shot.

Several other people were inside the apartment including an infant, according to Kitchens.

He tells us two unknown males entered the apartment, went upstairs and began shooting.

Officials say they responded Tuesday afternoon to Joiner Crossing Apartments in Grovetown.(WRDW)

Through the use of local cameras and doorbell cameras, officials say they were able to see that the suspects left in a vehicle.

They have a loose vehicle description and are trying to run down leads, according to Kitchens.

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Officials say the victim is in a local hospital in surgery and does not appear to have life-threatening injuries.

Kitchens wants the community to know that there is no danger to the community and this appears to be a targeted attack.

A witness said she saw 17 police cars on the scene around 6 p.m. and that it appeared officers were searching up and down some nearby railroad tracks.

Police were clustered around one apartment in particular. The door was open and crime scene tape hung outside the entry.

Around 6:30 p.m., police brought out a child car seat and a diaper bag. The significance of those items wasn’t clear.

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Butler High School, Augusta, Ga.

The incident comes amid an outbreak of violent crime that’s claimed about 200 lives in nearly three years across the CSRA.

The crime outbreak has affected communities large and small, but as the biggest city in the region, Augusta has been hit especially hard.

Authorities have blamed much of the problem on gangs.

We are working to learn more information about the incident.



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