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Monday, August 8, 2005
Gwinnett’s Gateway
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With the state’s largest school district opening for business today, I thought I’d post about Gwinnett County’s additional standardized test it requires students to pass: the Gateway.
Gwinnett school officials spent years developing tests for grades four, seven and high school, so they could assure their constitutents that a diploma from a Gwinnett County high school was meaningful. But the rest of the country quickly caught up to the idea of high-stakes testing, and before long all Georgia students were taking the curriculum test known as the CRCT in grades 2 through 8, in addition to the Iowa Test of Basic Skills for grades 3, 5 and 8. Georgia students in grades 3, 5 and 8 must now pass portions of the CRCT to get promoted.
Other controversies have dogged the Gateway. Parents have questioned whether the cut score is too low and the questions too confusing, making the test meaningless for most students. And they have said it adds too much stress on their kids. Officials have grappled with what to do with the small number of kids who don’t pass. Some taxpayers say the school district has wasted money on Gateway.
Is Gwinnett’s Gateway serving its purpose?
