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Monday, February 12, 2007
And For Today’s Test…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When I first moved to Georgia to cover Gwinnett County Public Schools, I was surprised to learn the system had its own series of standardized exams — created just so administrators could measure student progress against the county’s own standards.
I couldn’t believe a school system would take on such a costly enterprise, which officials say now runs about $750,000 a year. But apparently the state Department of Education’s mandatory tests, which have not always been held in esteem, weren’t good enough for Georgia’s largest school system.
Now, according to a story by my colleague Laura Diamond, Gwinnett officials are dropping portions of their signature Gateway exams, which they began using in 1999. Seems that after all these years the state tests finally have caught up to the county’s standards — at least in part.
Gwinnett’s high school students still will have to pass the Gateway and the Georgia High School Graduation Tests — not to mention taking any state End-of-Course Tests, which count for 15 percent of some final course grades — before they graduate. That’s in addition to passing their classes, of course.
Testing is always a hot topic. But what I really want to know is: Has the Gateway been just a colossal waste of time and money or has it actually benefited teachers and students?
UPDATE: In a follow-up article that Laura wrote, Gwinnett County Board of Education Chairwoman Louise Radloff defended the test. “Gateway was probably the idea that brought Gwinnett schools to where it is today,” she said. “This shows we do not accept mediocrity. This shows we hold all our students to high standards. What we did, we did in the best interest of the students. We knew we had to do this if we were to be a successful district.”
