Education
Education

Test rollback passes Georgia Senate, affecting teacher evaluations

By Ty Tagami
Feb 26, 2016

The Georgia Senate unanimously approved a school testing bill that will affect more than 100,000 teachers.

The 45-0 vote on Senate Bill 364 pushes it over to the House a day before the "cross over" deadline Monday.

Under current law, at least half of each teacher’s evaluation must be based on the their students’ performance on state-mandated tests. Teachers say many of the tests are not designed well for accountability and, perhaps more importantly, that they cannot make students take the tests seriously, especially those kids who have unstable home lives and may have no plans to graduate.

SB 364 reduces “growth” results on tests to 30 percent of a teacher’s job review. It also reduces the number of tests required.

“We are being over tested,” said Sen. Lindsey Tippins, R-Marietta, the bill’s author.

ExploreCLICK HERE to learn about tests that would be eliminated, other ways the legislation affects teacher evaluations and what people are saying about the bill, including lawmakers in the House, who have yet to vote on it.

About the Author

Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.

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