Should scores from the 2015-2016 End of Course Milestones high school tests — many of which are still not back to schools — count toward student grades?
Or should this tumultuous year be viewed as a practice round? The 2014-2015 school year marked the roll-out of the new Milestones EOCs, so scores did not count in the high school grades. The scores do count this year for 20 percent of a student's final course grade, despite computer glitches in the online administration in some schools.
Now, statewide delays have occurred in the grading of the EOCs by the hired contractor. Many schools closed their doors for the summer without receiving results, which means thousands of students have "Incompletes" on their report cards.
As one parent said last week, “It is the last day of post planning and the teachers are going home. The math teacher had her last day yesterday. We still are missing scores for the math and English EOC. My school is under major construction all summer. Does this mean my son’s grades will be incomplete until fall?”
While an argument exists to treat this year’s Milestones as a practice round, such a decision could cause a backlash. Consider what one teacher said about the prospect of throwing out EOC scores: “As far as the EOCs go, there are many students in high schools on 4×4 block schedules who took their tests in the fall, and had them count. I’m not sure tossing them for the spring takers would be very fair. I had several students who were failing and ended up with a passing grade after their EOC was added — I’m sure they want their scores to stay exactly the same!”
To read more about the testing problems, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog.
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