Paulding County School District students bettered their scores in 22 of 30 content areas for the six grades tested through the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCTs), the Georgia Department of Education reported Wednesday.

Paulding students also boasted better scores than the state averages in 22 of the 30 content areas.

“Based on our first-round analysis of CRCT results, scores have improved in all areas from 2010,” said Yvette Hill, the district’s assistant superintendent for school improvement. “There was a 2-percent point gain or better in reading at every grade level in grades 3-8. The average percentage for reading was 93 percent.

“With science coming on as a second indicator for [Adequate Yearly Progress] next year, we also looked at science scores and at each grade level percentage passing were maintained or increased,” she added. “This is an indication that student achievement on the CRCT continues to grow in Paulding County.”

The CRCT tests students from third to eighth grade in reading, English/language arts, math, science and social studies.

Students in third, fifth and eighth grades are required to meet or exceed grade requirements on the CRCT in reading in order to advance according to state law. Fifth- and eighth-grade students also must meet or exceed expectations on the CRCT in mathematics to move to the next grade.

Paulding County's fourth- and seventh-graders improved in all five categories. The largest increase for the fourth-graders came in social studies with 82.1 percent meeting or exceeding the standard, compared to 75.1 percent last year. The class also did well in math with 79.1 percent meeting or exceeding the standard in 2010 and 83.4 percent this year.

Seventh graders also improved in math, with 88.5 percent meeting or exceeding the standard this year. Last year, it was 86.3 percent.

The largest improvement came in social studies for the sixth graders. The class went from 68.6 percent of students meeting or exceeding the standard to 75.9 percent this year—a 7.3 percent jump.

Fifth- and eighth-grade students each topped their scores in three of the five content areas.

Although the third grade improved its scores from last year in only two of the five content areas, they, along with the fourth-graders, were the only students in the district to top the state average in each of the five content areas.