Are Georgia’s new tests making a difference?

By Maureen Downey

Feb 23, 2016

Under the state’s new tougher tests and standards, more Georgia students are failing. So, parents know the new Georgia Milestones are harder tests, but what they don’t know yet is whether they are better tests.

Stung by repeated studies showing Georgia’s definition of proficient was lower than other states, the state Board of Education raised standards and the state Department of Education developed new tests to measure those standards.

In 2014, the last year the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests or CRCTs were given, more than 80 percent of fourth-graders passed the reading exam and more than 90 percent of eighth- graders passed math. Those pass rates fell dramatically when students took the Georgia Milestones last year.

But here’s the problem: Because Georgia declined to join other states in developing new tests, it is still hard to know how good the Milestones are and how well our students are faring as there is no basis of comparison with other states. On the AJC Get Schooled blog, two researchers question why Georgia has not undertaken an independent review of the quality of the Milestones.

To read their concerns, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog on MyAJC.com

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