Cherokee County to reduce school testing

Cherokee County School District students will be taking fewer mandated tests during the 2016-17 school year.

Superintendent Brian Hightower sent a memo to principals and school board members Friday on the changes, which include suspending the Cognitive Abilities Test for 2016-17 except for second-graders, whose testing will be rescheduled to May. A testing calendar committee earlier this year recommend scuttling the CogAT requirement for grades four and six because the Georgia Milestones Exams should fulfill teacher needs to assess student mastery and performance.

Hightower also told district personnel that Iowa testing would be suspended for all grades next year for the same reason. The superintendent wrote that while assessing student performance is important, excessive testing causes stress for students, teachers and parents.