Georgia school leaders were so shocked by dismal scores on state math and social studies tests, the state superintendent released a statement Monday to prepare parents and others for the results.

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According to the unofficial results, only 20 to 30 percent of Georgia's sixth- and seventh-graders passed the state social studies exam. In math, about 40 percent of eighth-graders could be held back because they failed the test.

The state will release official scores from the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests next month.

Parents whose children failed the math test will be notified by local schools. The state requires eighth-graders to pass the reading and math exams to move to high school.

Students who failed math exams — as well as those who might have failed reading — can retake the exam this summer. Schools will provide optional free classes to get them ready. Students who failed the social studies exam don't face any consequences under Georgia law.

State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox said test scores in both subjects dropped because students took harder tests to match the state's tougher and more rigorous curriculum.

"When you raise standards and expectations, it is not unusual to see a temporary dip in the percent of students who are meeting those expectations," Cox wrote in a statement released Monday afternoon. "We have seen this in other grades and other areas of the curriculum."

Cox was puzzled by the drastic drop in social studies, calling it "cause for concern." Last year, about 83 percent of the sixth-graders passed the social studies test, as did about 86 percent of the seventh-graders, according to state figures.

She wondered whether the new social studies standards were clear and if some of the detailed test questions caught students off guard. Cox will ask a group of teachers and curriculum specialists to determine what may have happened.

"We have to do better with this," Cox said.

Changes could be made to the test and to the material teachers teach, said Dana Tofig, spokesman for the state education department.

Parent Stephanie Kratofil said her daughter described the seventh-grade exams as some of the hardest tests she's ever taken. The straight-A student told her mom the social studies exam included material never taught in class.

"There's got to be something wrong with that test," Kratofil said. "This is showing some horrible numbers for the state. It just doesn't make any sense."

While a failed math test carries more consequences than the social studies test, state education leaders had predicted only about 60 percent of students would pass the tougher exam, Tofig said. About 81 percent of eighth-graders passed the math CRCT last year.

Cox described the decline as a "temporary dip" because of the higher expectations placed on all students. This year every eighth-grader took algebra, while before only a small number took the class in middle school, she said.

The math scores are used to determine whether schools meet the testing goals required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Schools that fail face increasingly severe sanctions, up to a possible takeover by the state.

Cox previously said she expected more middle schools to miss testing goals this year because of math scores. A report showing specifically how many middle schools missed the mark will be released in July.