Test Questions EVERY PARENT Needs to Ask

Test Questions EVERY PARENT Needs to Ask

Test questions EVERY PARENT needs to ask:

  1. How many standardized tests does my child have to take this year?

The number of standardized assessments that are given will vary depending on the grade, program placement, and course schedule of a student.

Kindergarten

Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (GKIDS)

Grade 1&2

No standardized assessments

Grade 3-8

Georgia Milestone End of Grade (EOG) Assessment in ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies

Grade 4, 8, and 12

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment is given each year to select fourth and eighth grade students across the state of Georgia. Paulding County typically has between 1 and 3 schools selected each year to administer the NAEP assessment.

Grade 9-12

Georgia Milestones End of Course (EOC) Assessments are given within 8 courses: 9th Grade Literature, American Literature, Algebra 1, Geometry, Biology, Physical Science, Economics, and US History.

Other

Active English Language Learners (ELL) students are assessed with the ACCESS for ELL assessment while served within the program.

Students with significant cognitive disabilities that are unable to take the Georgia Milestone Assessment participate in the Georgia Alternative Assessment (GAA). Students in grades Kindergarten, grades 3-8 and 11th grade take part in this portfolio based assessment.

  1. Where do these tests originate?

All Georgia required standardized tests, with the exception of the ACCESS for ELL assessment, are developed through the Georgia Department of Education with the input and assistance of Georgia educators. The state does not utilize Pearson or SBAC in the development of common core assessments.

  1. What is the specific academic purpose for each one?

GKIDS

The Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (GKIDS) is a year-long, performance-based assessment aligned to the state mandated content standards. The goal of the assessment program is to provide teachers with information about the level of instructional support needed by individual students entering kindergarten and first grade. GKIDS will allow teachers to assess student performance during instruction, record student performance in an on-line database, and generate reports for instructional planning, progress reports, report cards, SST, and/or parent conferences.

Georgia Milestone Assessments

The Georgia Milestones Assessment System (Georgia Milestones) is a comprehensive summative assessment pro​gram spanning grades 3 through high school. Georgia Milestones measures how well students have learned the knowledge and skills outlined in the state-adopted content standards in language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Students in grades 3 through 8 take an end-of-grade assessment in each content area, while high school studentstake an end-of-course assessment for each of the tencourses designated by the State Board of Education.

ACCESS for ELL

ACCESS for ELLs is a standards-based, criterion referenced English language proficiency test designed to measure English learners’ social and academic proficiency in English. It assesses social and instructional English as well as the language associated with language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies within the school context across the four language domains. ACCESS for ELLs meets the federal requirementsthat mandates require states to evaluate EL students in grades K through 12 on their progress in learning to speak English.

Georgia Alternative Assessment (GAA)

The GAA is a portfolio of student work that enables the demonstration of achievement and progress relative to selected skills that are aligned to the Georgia curriculum. The portfolio is used to capture student learning and achievement/progress in four content areas: English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. This assessment program promotes a vision of enhancing capacities and integrated life opportunities for students who experience significant cognitive disabilities. Committees of Georgia educators developed the requirements of the portfolio system including the number of required pieces of evidence of student performance of tasks aligned to content standards (i.e., student work samples), types of evidence, and the parameters/timing of the collection of student work samples.

  1. How will these tests affect my child's academic future or standing?

In grades 3, the state of state board rule 160-4-2-.11 states that students must achieve grade level performance in reading on the Georgia Milestone EOG Assessment in order to be promoted to the next grade level. In grades 5 and 8, the state board rule includes reading and mathematics.

At the High School level, Georgia Milestones EOC Assessments are required by state board rule 160-4-2-.13 to count for 20% of a student’s final numeric grade.

In addition to utilizing student assessment results to assist in providing specialized instruction for students based on their strengths and weaknesses, standardized assessment scores are also utilized in part to determine eligibility for specialized programs within the district, including but not limited to: gifted eligibility, Early Intervention Program, Honors, Accelerated and Advanced Placement.

  1. For each test, does the teacher see individual student results and have a chance to adjust individual instruction to help each student?

The results of all assessments are shared with the classroom teacher with the purpose and expectation that the results of the assessment will be utilized to determine the educational needs of the students assessed. In cases in which individual student results are returned in the summer, the results are shared with the classroom teacher(s) that will provide instruction to the student in the new year to assist them in providing instructional tailored to the students strengths and weaknesses.

  1. Who sees the scores, where will they be recorded, and for what purpose?

Individual assessment results are shared with parents through the Individual Score Reports provided by the Georgia Department of Education. Student results are also shared with administrative and classroom staff that will utilize the results to provide instruction or make program determinations for students.

  1. Do the scores become part of my child's record?

Yes, all state mandated standardized test scores do become part of the student’s permanent record. A copy of the Individual Score Report is placed within the student’s permanent record.

8. Who in the district instructed you to give these tests?

The Georgia Department of Education provides training to the system test coordinator at the school district level. This training is then redelivered to test coordinators at each school, and training is provided to certified staff at each school that serve as the test examiners for the test administration.

All examiners manuals, along with assessment guides and assessment descriptions are made available to the public through the Georgia Department of Education’s Assessment website at