Georgia officials ask to suspend most standardized tests for next school year. Here’s why
If the federal government approves the request, the performance of Georgia public schools, teachers and students won’t be measured by high-stakes standardized tests in the state’s education accountability system during the next academic year.
Citing the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic recession as reasons, Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Department of Education superintendent Richard Woods announced in a joint statement Thursday the state is seeking a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education to suspend the 2020-21 Georgia Milestones Assessment System and the College and Career Ready Performance Index ratings for schools and districts.
“To our knowledge,” they said, “Georgia is the first state in the nation to make this announcement for the upcoming school year.”
They also announced, effective immediately, the GaDOE is suspending the evaluation called the Teacher Keys Effectiveness System summative rating for 2020-21.
“On March 16, Georgia became one of the first states in the nation to suspend standardized testing requirements in the wake of the COVID-19 school closures,” they said, “and later received approval from the U.S. Department of Education for the cancellation of all remaining standardized tests in the 2019-2020 school year.
“Given the ongoing challenges posed by the pandemic and the resulting state budget reductions, it would be counterproductive to continue with high-stakes testing for the 2020-2021 school year. In anticipation of a return to in-person instruction this fall, we believe schools’ focus should be on remediation, growth, and the safety of students. Every dollar spent on high-stakes testing would be a dollar taken away from the classroom.”
Kemp and Woods added a reminder that they consider the current testing requirements excessive.
“We are continuing to pursue Senate Bill 367,” they said, “which aims to get Georgia’s state testing requirements in line with the federal minimum and maximize time for instruction.”
This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 11:05 AM.
