Hasta La Vista CRCT and EOCT

Good Bye CRCT … Hello Georgia Milestones.
Georgia agreed to go to a new test and raise its threshold for passing when it sought a waiver from the No Child Left Behind federal education law. After 14 years, the Georgia Milestones test will replace CRCT and EOCT starting next year. View this assessment and accountability testing matrix to see which tests are taken at which grade level(s) and whether the test is required by the state of Georgia or required by the DeKalb County School District.

Georgia Milestones will be aligned with Common Core and will be touted as a tougher, more rigorous test. State educators admitted that the comparatively low average scores on national tests such as the SAT was indicative of the low threshold for meeting the state’s standards and wasn’t doing Georgia students any favors.
McGraw-Hill will receive $107.8-million over the next 5 years to develop the new test. It will have fewer multiple choice and more open ended questions. About 35% of the CRCT was administered online last year, but DOE officials expect the new test to be entirely online by its fifth year.
There are still many unknowns. What will be the final pricetag? CRCT and EOCT testing cost roughly $18 million to administer last year. Georgia Milestone’s open ended questions will have to be graded by people which will drive the cost of administering the tests up and take away money from the classroom. Furthermore, the DOE hasn’t said how the new test will affect the Student Growth Model or teacher evaluations like TKES and LKES.
I shudder to think that teacher evaluations will come down to subjective test graders making minimum wage.

Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT)
On Monday, March 30, 2015, Governor Nathan Deal signed House Bill 91 into law, thereby creating a new code section, O.C.G.A. § 20-2-281.1. This law became effective upon the Governor’s signature.
This law provides that students shall no longer be required to earn a passing score on the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) to earn a high school diploma.
As a result, the GHSGT is no longer administered.
For more information about House Bill 91, please click here​.
To read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about House Bill 91, please click here.
The GHSGT was administered to students who entered grade 9 for the first time on July 1, 1991 to June 30, 2011.
The Basic Skills Tests (BST) for Reading and Mathematics was administered to students who entered grade nine for the first time on July 1, 1981 to June 30, 1991.  For more information, please click here.