Georgia Milestones test results show kids struggle with core subjects

The scores for Georgia’s first-ever Milestones tests are out and many students in some metro Atlanta school districts struggled to pass.

The old Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests and high school End of Course Tests “set some of the lowest expectations for student proficiency in the nation,” state Superintendent Richard Woods said in September when the statewide average scores were released. The new test is harder to pass, and the results released Monday show students struggling in metro Atlanta schools.

For third-grade English, a core subject, DeKalb County had the worst showing among major urban Atlanta districts, with 43.7 percent failing. Atlanta Public Schools had a 41.3 percent failure rate in the same grade and subject. Others were scoring around the twenties.