Early returns show that Bulloch County public school students posted better results on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests in 2012 than in the previous year, according to state data released Thursday. Bulloch County students also posted higher passing rates than their counterparts statewide on most CRCT tested areas, the Georgia Department of Education data show. “Our efforts of focusing have paid off,” said Brenda Kingery, the school district’s program specialist for testing data analysis and research.