State education data reveals that a substantial number of Tift County Math teachers achieved a major milestone this academic year in terms of the number of students successfully meeting or exceeding individual academic growth targets. The data highlights impressive forward momentum across the district, further demonstrating how Tift Schools is "Moving the Needle" on behalf of our students. Tift’s growth metrics complement the district's recent success on the Georgia Milestones Assessments, where multiple campuses outscored state averages, outpaced state growth, and demonstrated significant year over year gains.
Unlike absolute performance scores, SGPs measure the amount of academic progress a student makes over the course of a school year compared to other students statewide who started with the same academic baseline. This gives every student, regardless of their starting point, an equitable opportunity to demonstrate growth.
The results, measured through the Georgia Student Growth Model (GSGM), highlight the progress students make relative to their academic peers across the state rather than just a single-test proficiency snapshot like Proficient or Distinguished on the Milestones designates.
Celebrating Educator Impact
For teachers crossing the 50% threshold, the data proves that a majority of their students achieved typical or high academic growth compared to state peers with matching previous scores.
“We are incredibly proud of the remarkable impact our math teachers are making on student growth across Tift County Schools,” said Interim Superintendent Jennifer Howell. “When 80% of our middle school math teachers and more than 70% of our elementary math teachers are surpassing state growth benchmark - with an incredible 85.7% of our 7th-grade math teachers exceeding those expectation - we know something powerful is happening in our classrooms. These numbers represent far more than percentages on a report. They represent teachers who believe deeply in their students, who continually strengthen their practice, and who refuse to settle for anything less than growth for every child. This is what it means to move the needle. Our teachers are proving that when exceptional instruction is paired with high expectations and an unwavering commitment to students, extraordinary growth is possible.”
Table 1. Percent of Math Teachers with 50% or more of their students achieving Typical & High Growth
Math | % of Teachers Outperforming Average State Progress |
Elementary Math Teachers Overall | 70.45% |
4th grade teachers | 70.83 % |
5th grade teachers | 70% |
Middle School Math Teachers Overall | 80% |
6th grade teachers | 83.3% |
7th grade teachers | 85.7% |
8th grade teachers | 71.4% |
"Student achievement is a collective effort," said Howell. "Our SGP results confirm that focusing on high-quality core instruction, aligned curriculum, targeted intervention, and supporting teachers makes a meaningful difference across Tift County. Rising growth percentiles show our educators are meeting students where they are and accelerating learning thereby realizing greater than typical growth."
"We are deeply grateful to our teachers, staff, families, and administrators," Howell added. "Together, we live our mission to Collaborate, Learn, and Achieve, driving real progress for our students."
Understanding Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs) in Georgia
Unlike traditional test scores that show if a student met a static performance standard (e.g., proficient and distinguished), Georgia uses Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs) to also measure a student's academic progress or growth from one year to the next. As such, growth percentiles are only available for students participating in Milestones EOG tests in grades 4-8.
The SGP Scale: SGPs range from 1 to 99.
Academic Peers: An SGP compares a student's current test score to other students across Georgia who share a similar academic history (prior test scores).
What the Numbers Mean: An SGP of 60 means the student grew more than 60% of their academically similar peers defined as those peers across the state with similar past scores.
The Georgia Department of Education generally categorizes growth percentiles into three primary tiers:
65 or Above: This indicates exemplary performance. On average, students in the classroom are progressing faster than at least 65% of their academic peers across Georgia.
35 to 64: This is the target baseline. A score of 50 represents the exact state median. Any teacher score between 50 and 64 indicates that the teacher is successfully driving above-average academic progress.
34 or Below: The teacher’s students, on average, are growing at a slower academic pace than their statewide academic peers.
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