Georgia Institutes New Student Testing System

When students come back to class in the fall, they will encounter a new, more rigorous testing system.

This week, the Georgia Depaqrtment of Education announced it has eliminated the standard Criteria Referenced Competency Test or CRCT and is replacing it with the Georgia Milestones Assessment System.

Franklin County School Superintendent Dr. Ruth O’Dell said Franklin County schools are ready.

O’Dell said however, the tests will be harder for students than the past tests.

“We knew it was coming,” O’Dell said. “We’ll see higher cut off scores. For a student to be deemed they’ve met the standard is going to be much more difficult than it has been.”

O’Dell said the new tests will have not just multiple choice questions but also questions which will require written answers.

Georgia Milestones will be aligned to the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) and will better prepare students for college and career as well as provide a more realistic picture of academic progress, according to Georgia School Superintendent Dr. John Barge.

“We need to know that students are being prepared, not at a minimum-competency level but with rigorous, relevant education, to enter college, the workforce or the military at a level that makes them competitive with students from other states,” Dr. Barge said.

Another major benefit of the new system, Barge said, is that it is one consistent testing program across grades 3-12, whereas previously students took a series of individual tests.

However, Barge noted the increased expectations for student learning as reflected in Georgia Milestones may mean initially lower scores than the previous years’ CRCT or EOCT scores.

But Barge said that is to be expected and should bring Georgia’s tests in line with other indicators of how our students are performing.