Must-reading for Georgia parents of students in grades, 3, 5 and 8

If you’re a parent or guardian of a Georgia public school student in grade 3, 5 or 8 and you want them to be promoted to the next grade, sorry to ruin your spring break, but you might want to ensure your child understands this next sentence before the state’s standardized testing period starts next month:

The high stakes of those exams for these students have returned after a two-year hiatus.

The Georgia Department of Education’s policy to retain students in grades 3, 5 and 8 who don’t pass certain tests went into effect in 2003 but was waived in 2015 because the state was implementing a new and more rigorous set, the Georgia Milestones Assessment System, which replaced the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests. The GaDOE also waived the retention provision in 2016 because some school districts reported technical glitches while students were taking the Georgia Milestones online.

Unless another problem arises, the 2017 Georgia Milestones will include the requirement that third-graders must pass the reading test and fifth- and eighth-graders must pass the reading and math tests to be promoted.

Students in these grades who fail those tests may take a retest. If they don’t pass the retest, they may be retained, although the parent/guardian, teacher or principal may appeal.

The placement committee comprises the principal or designee, the student’s parent or guardian and the teacher(s) in the content area(s) the student failed. The committee must unanimously agree to override the retention requirement and must develop a plan that prescribes how the student will be academically supported.

If you don’t like those rules, you can hope Gov. Nathan Deal signs Georgia House Bill 425, which passed the House 151-18 March 3 and the Senate 44-9 March 20. HB 425 prohibits “a school system from taking punitive action against a student, including, but not limited to, the adoption of sit and stare policies, in response to a student’s refusal to participate in a federal, state or locally mandated standardized assessment.”

HB 425 also combat the trend toward online testing, stating, “the State Board of Education or local school system is strongly encouraged to allow the administration of any such assessment in a paper-and-pencil format for any student whose parent or guardian requests such format and to any student 18 years of age or older who requests such format; provided, however, that this shall not apply to make-up assessments.”

Until then, maybe you should heed this advice about test preparation from Muscogee County School District research, accountability and assessment director Patrick Knopf:

▪ “Students should be reading every day. Help students by talking about what they have read. Guide them in discussing the main idea of what they read and how that may be similar or different from something else they have previously read.”

▪ “Encourage students to continue to work even when they are stuck. Many times, students will get partial credit, particularly in math, for attempting to answer a question. This is a good habit to develop in preparing for the test but more importantly for dealing with everyday challenges students may face in life.”

▪ “Students should practice writing responses to things they have read. Be sure they write complete sentences and include details about what they have read.”

▪ “Take advantage of any extra help offered at school. Many schools offer before- or after-school tutoring to help students with areas of need at a pace slower than that of the regular school day.”

Georgia Milestones study guides are available on the GaDOE website: http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Pages/EOG-Study-Resource-Guides.aspx.

This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Must-reading for Georgia parents of students in grades, 3, 5 and 8."