Georgia Milestones testing: 75 Gwinnett County students opt out

Seventy-five Gwinnett County students have opted out of taking the Georgia Milestones exams, school district officials said Thursday.

The number is low in comparison to the 76,000 students taking the exams, but it shows the resistance some parents have of what they say is too much testing by schools and not enough focus on learning.

The Georgia Milestones are state exams aimed at measuring student proficiency in several subjects. Public school students from the third grade and up are currently taking the Georgia Milestones exams.

Gwinnett officials said in a presentation Thursday to school board members that state education officials are helping them with some challenges they're having with the online assessments. Gwinnett was one of nearly two dozen school districts statewide that had trouble late last week with the online assessments.

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Georgia student going to court after being expelled for warning of threat

The middle school student was expelled after he sent messages to friends about a video he'd seen with someone threatening to shoot up area schools.

School starts in about a month in metro Atlanta. Check the dates here.

Most students in metro Atlanta will start school the first week of August, while others go back in July. Some school districts are already preparing for the return.