Legislation that would cut the number of required tests in Georgia public schools sailed through the state Senate Tuesday with a big push from Gov. Brian Kemp and teachers.
Senate Bill 367 is backed by both the governor and state School Superintendent Richard Woods, plus the largest education advocacy groups in the state.
The legislation, which passed the Senate 53-0, calls for cutting five standardized tests — four from high school and one from fifth grade.
Sen. P.K. Martin, R-Lawrenceville, the lead author, told fellow senators that high-stakes testing has been the top complaint he has heard since he was appointed chairman of the chamber's education committee last year.
“This places too much pressure on our students and our teachers,” he said.
Parents, teachers and school administrators have long grumbled about the influence of testing on the classroom, saying the exams create stress and consume too much time. Kemp and Woods toured the state last year and heard those complaints, vowing to address them.
They are pushing lawmakers to continue what they started in 2016, when they cut eight science and social studies tests from elementary and middle school.
That left Georgia with 24 tests, seven more than the 17 mandated by the federal government. The new round of cuts would drop the total to 19.
The legislation mostly targets high school because that is where most of the tests that aren’t required by Washington have lingered.
There are currently eight high school exams, two each in math, English, science and social studies. SB 367 would cut that to one per topic, requiring the Georgia Board of Education, a body appointed by governors, to make the selections.
It would also eliminate the social studies test in fifth grade.
The two remaining tests in excess of the federal requirement would be the one for Georgia history in eighth grade and one of the two social studies tests in high school. Currently, high school students are tested in both U.S. history and economics, and the education board would choose which to eliminate if the legislation passes the House of Representatives unchanged.
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