One hundred and thirty-one students from Morgan County High School’s Class of 2024 took the SAT last year and outperformed the Regional Education Service Agency (RESA) and state averages.
The high school had a total average score of 1,089, surpassing the Northeast Georgia RESA’s 1,049 and the state’s 1,001. For evidence-based reading and writing, Morgan County test-takers had an average score of 562, compared to the RESA’s 540 and the state’s 515. In math, test-takers had an average score of 526, outpacing the RESA’s 509 and state’s 485.
Susan Tolbert, the assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, shared the results from the College Board’s 2024 SAT Suite Annual Report during the Morgan County Board of Education’s meeting on Oct. 14.
Tolbert said the report only includes the latest scores of each test-taker, who is counted once.
According to the report, more than 450 schools had students participating in the SAT, and MCHS ranked 62nd overall and seventh among all 159 county-based school districts for total average scores. Among the 22 high schools in the Northeast Georgia RESA, MCHS ranked fifth in total average score, fourth in evidence-based reading and writing, and fifth in math.
“Our SAT scores stacked up very nicely compared to the RESA and state,” Tolbert said. “We’re very proud of our students and our teachers for preparing them.”
Assessment and accountability coordinator Chip Meyer also shared the results from the 2023-24 Georgia Math Milestones, which the Georgia Department of Education recently released due to the implementation of new standards.
“We did very, very well,” Meyer said.
According to the results, the percentage of Morgan County students who scored proficient or distinguished met or exceeded the RESA and state averages in six of the seven grades assessed.
For third through eighth grade and Algebra I, 55 percent of students scored proficient or distinguished, compared to the RESA and state averages of 48 percent and 43 percent, respectively.
In third grade, 66 percent of Morgan County students scored proficient or distinguished, compared to the RESA’s 51 percent and state’s 45 percent.
In fourth grade, a similar percentage of students (64 percent) were proficient or distinguished learners, compared to the RESA’s 55 percent and state’s 48 percent.
For fifth-grade math, 70 percent of students scored proficient or distinguished, surpassing the RESA's 50 percent and the state's 41 percent.
In sixth grade, 39 percent of Morgan County students were proficient or above, compared to the RESA’s 37 percent and the state’s 35 percent.
In seventh grade, 46 percent of test-takers scored proficient or above, just passing the RESA’s 45 percent and state’s 38 percent.
In eighth grade, 62 percent scored proficient or above, outpacing the RESA’s 50 percent and state’s 44 percent.
Algebra I had the only percentage of students who did not meet or exceed the RESA and state averages.
Thirty-nine percent of Algebra I students scored proficient or above, compared to the RESA’s 50 percent and state’s 46 percent. Meyer said the school system plans to work with teachers to ensure students are prepared for the Algebra I assessment.
Meyer also shared the graduation rate for the Class of 2024 cohort. He said the cohort is based on the students who enter ninth grade during a given calendar year, and is tracked throughout the four years of high school.
Students who transfer in or out and those who leave for other reasons are documented and reconciled to determine the rate at the end of the four years.
Morgan County’s 2024 graduation rate of 92.6 percent included 318 students who were enrolled at MCHS at some point in the four years. The rate dropped slightly from the 2023 rate of 94.6 percent, though the 2024 rate is still competitive with the RESA’s 92.7 percent, contiguous (bordering) districts’ 93.6 percent, and the state’s 85.4 percent.
Meyer said Morgan County also remains above the 90th percentile, which is the state threshold for strong graduation rates.
Meyer noted the rate includes 16 students who were considered by the state as active, unknown, in adult education, or removed. He said the data is being analyzed to assist better the needs of seniors completing graduation requirements and to document better students who leave the school system.
Jersey retired
The BOE also voted to retire former MCHS basketball player B.J. Elder’s No. 20 jersey.
Elder was selected for the All-State Second Team during his junior year and was named the Region 7-AA Player of the Year. In the summer before his senior year, he was invited to participate in the ABCD Camp, a camp for the best high school players in the U.S.
Elder earned All-State First Team honors at the end of his senior season. He was also ranked among the top 100 players in the country. PrepStars had him as the 20th-best shooting guard in the nation and 73rd overall recruiting prospect; Hoop Scoop ranked him as the 100th-best player; The Sporting News included him in their Top 100 list of seniors; and Recruiting Services Consensus Index ranked him as the 97th best player.
Elder became a standout member of Georgia Tech’s 2004 NCAA runner-up team. During that season, the Associated Press selected Elder for an All-America Honorable Mention. Elder was also named to the All-District 4 by the USBWA and All-District 5 by the NABC and was named one of the 20 finalists for the Wooden Award All-America team.
During his collegiate career, Elder earned All-ACC honors twice, finished 13th on the Yellow Jackets’ all-time scoring list with 1,616 points, and finished fourth on the school’s all-time three-point field goal list with 222 three-pointers.
Elder also played European professional basketball for 10 years.
After serving as an assistant basketball coach at Meadowcreek High School and Clarkston High School, Elder returned to the Georgia Tech men’s basketball program in 2019 as the associate director of player personnel. He is currently the program’s assistant coach.