Gwinnett County Public Schools led the way in fifth grade writing tests in the 2010-2011 school year, with six local elementary schools ranking first or second in the state in student achievement.

Fifth grade writing tests are administered each March by the Georgia Department of Education. The tests measure students’ abilities to write in narrative, persuasive, or informational styles, and are assessed based on ideas, organization, style, and conventions.

Schools and districts are ranked based on how well their students performed on the test, with results in several categories.

Gwinnett’s Brookwood Elementary took first in the state in the Mean Scaled Score category of the test, followed by two other Gwinnett Schools, Simpson Elementary and Camp Creek Elementary, which were tied for second.

In the Exceeds Percentage category, Simpson Elementary came in first with Brookwood coming in second.

Parsons Elementary and New Life Academy tied for first place in the category of Percentage Meeting and Exceeding Standards. Both schools had a 100 percent pass rate.

In the same category, Puckett’s Mill Elementary and Camp Creek tied for second place with a 99 percent pass rate.