Student test scores won't be pivotal to how schools are rated now that Georgia has been allowed to opt out of federal No Child Left Behind requirements.
A waiver granted Thursday by the Obama administration also means Georgia won't be bound by the law's mandate that all students be proficient in math and reading by 2014. Critics say that goal was unrealistic and created a teach-to-the-test atmosphere that frustrated teachers, parents and students.
Standardized test scores still will count in schools' annual evaluations, but will carry far less weight as Georgia transitions to a system that will measure students' readiness to attend college or begin a career after high school.
Educators hailed the administration's decision, saying the pressure to perform likely contributed to test-cheating scandals in Atlanta Public Schools and elsewhere.
"We supported the waiver because it gets us away from that overemphasis on [Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests] scores as the be-all, end-all to how good a school is," said Tim Callahan, spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, the state's largest teacher organization.
Schools often complained their reputations were tarnished by a single test -- the CRCT in elementary and middle schools and the graduation test in high schools. Those tests were a key factor in whether a school made Adequate Yearly Progress, the main benchmark of achievement under No Child Left Behind.
President Barack Obama announced in September that states could apply for waivers from NCLB.
Georgia was among the first states to apply for a waiver.
State School Superintendent John Barge was with the president at a Thursday afternoon news conference at the White House where waivers were announced for Georgia, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
“No longer will we be bound by the narrow definitions of success found in No Child Left Behind," Barge said. "We will now be able to hold schools accountable and reward them for the work they do in all subjects and with all students.”
Gov. Nathan Deal issued a statement saying the waiver gives Georgia "the flexibility we need to pursue our goals of student achievement."
In exchange for the waivers, states had to agree to implement teacher evaluation systems tied to student achievement, something Georgia is already piloting in 26 districts involved with the Obama administration's education reform initiative, Race to the Top.
They also had to submit plans aimed at boosting student achievement, helping students prepare better for college and careers, and focusing on the highest and lowest achieving students.
A key piece of Georgia's plan is a college and career readiness index. The state needs another year to develop the specifics of the index, which is why Georgia's waiver is deemed conditional, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Conditional waivers were granted to two other states, Oklahoma and Florida.
Under Georgia's plan, the state will move to a five-star rating system for schools. Schools and districts also will be graded on a 100-point scale that includes measures such as graduation rates, test scores and how many student take advanced placement classes.
Instead of labeling schools as passing or failing, which was the case under AYP, the state has developed a new multi-tiered system to distinguish schools.
“Priority schools” are those in most need academic intervention, “focus schools” are those on the cusp of needing more serious assistance and “reward schools” are those with the highest academic performance. The state also will roll out an “alert schools” designation to identify schools that need help in certain academic areas or with specific groups of students.
In 2011, more than 85,000 Georgia students took tests to determine whether their schools were meeting annual academic goals. Most schools met the challenge -- about 73 percent of schools made AYP, down from 77 percent from 2010.
On the whole, Georgia’s elementary schools had more success with AYP than other grade levels. About 83 percent of elementary schools made AYP compared with about 41 percent of high schools.
Georgia’s Senate Republican leadership, anticipating the waiver, filed a bill Thursday that aligns with what the waiver proposes.
“Parents need to know how well a school is doing,” said Senate President Pro Tem Tommie Williams, R-Lyons. “So do the public that’s paying the taxes."
In a statement, Cobb County Superintendent Michael Hinojosa called the waiver good news for the state and the school district, because the previous policy set unrealistic goals.
"There were many good qualities to No Child Left Behind, especially the fact that it held us accountable for educating all children. Unfortunately, in recent years the measurements had escalated to such an unrealistic level that they were beginning to be no longer meaningful,” Hinojosa said.
Donna Kosicki, president of the Georgia PTA, said she’s glad the state is moving from a system where the performance of just a few students can put a school in “failing” status.
“It’s a good thing to get our kids thinking about career pathways, looking at academics in deeper way and thinking critically and creatively,” she said.
Eugene Walker, chairman of the DeKalb County Board of Education, welcomed the waiver.
“Not that NCLB didn’t do any good," he said. "It acknowledged the problems we were having with subgroups and allowed us to establish remediation and quantifiable ways to address them.”
But Walker, a former teacher, said at the same time NCLB was putting tremendous pressure on teachers and school systems.
“It set unrealistic standards,” Walker said.
What it means
Georgia no longer has to comply with key requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Schools no longer will be labeled as making or not making Adequate Yearly Progress. The state also is out from under the mandate that all students be proficient in math and reading by 2014.
In exchange, Georgia has to implement a teacher evaluation system tied to student achievement. New standards will be put in place aimed at increasing college and career readiness.
Staff writers Kristina Torres, Jaime Sarrio, Ernie Suggs and Wayne Washington contributed to this report.
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