ATLANTA — Georgia school Superintendent Richard Woods announced Thursday that the state has eliminated half of the Georgia milestone end-of-course tests required for high school students.
The news comes a week after U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy Devos announced that the department would not continue to waive standardized testing requirements during the pandemic.
Tests were temporarily waived in March as the virus took hold in the U.S. and schools sent students home. Woods said he requested an extension of the waivers in July, but never got a response. Devos' letter was to every school district in the country.
In a scathing letter, Woods said he was disappointed in Devos' decision and that it would hurt students, who are already facing stress and hardships due to the pandemic. Woods said that if the waivers were not granted again, he would do everything he could to take the pressure off students and make the tests less high-stakes.
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“Given the unique environment we are in, they are neither valid nor reliable measures of academic progress or achievement,” Woods wrote at the time.
Woods said Thursday that the tests that will be eliminated are geometry, ninth grade literature and composition, physical science and economics. Tests will still be administered in algebra, American literature and composition, biology and U.S. history.
The state has also eliminated the fifth-grade social studies Georgia milestone assessment.
The move to eliminate these tests is the largest reduction in standardized testing in state history. Thirty-two tests were required in 2015. Only 19 are required beginning this school year.
“Throughout my time as State School Superintendent, I have expressed deep and persistent concerns about the number and weight of high-stakes tests in Georgia,”Woods said. “While there is certainly still work to do, Georgia’s state testing requirements are now in line with the federal minimum, significantly decreasing the testing burden in Georgia’s public schools. Reducing the number of high-stakes tests allows space for a greater focus on teaching, learning, and remediation – exactly where the focus should be for Georgia’s students and teachers.”
Before the pandemic began, Gov. Kemp and lawmakers from both parties announced plans to reduce the number of high-stakes tests Georgia students were required to take, arguing that they take precious time away from instruction.
Gov. Brian Kemp said at that time that Georgia tests more than any other state, and that only hurts the children.
“On test days, it’s making students physically sick because they’re worried they will not do well,” Kemp said. “And that is simply unacceptable in our state.”
Cox Media Group
