Georgia Milestones

Georgia Milestones Information

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 English Language Arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.  

Students in grades 3 through 8 take an end-of-grade assessment in English Language Arts and mathematics while students in grades 5 and 8 are also assessed in science and social studies. High school students take an end-of-course assessment for each of the ten courses designated by the State Board of Education.

Features the Georgia Milestone Assessment System include:

• open-ended (constructed-response) items in English Language Arts and mathematics (all grades and courses);
• a writing component (in response to passages read by students) at every grade level and course within the English Language Arts assessment;
• norm-referenced items in all content areas and courses, to complement the criterion-referenced information and to provide a national comparison; and
• transition to online administration over time, with online administration considered the primary mode of administration and paper-pencil as back-up until the transition is complete.

Importantly, Georgia Milestones is designed to provide students with critical information about their own achievement and their readiness for their next level of learning – be it the next grade, the next course, or endeavor (college or career).  

Informing parents, educators, and the public about how well students are learning important content is an essential aspect of any educational assessment and accountability system.  Parents, the public, and policy makers, including local school districts and boards of education, can use the results as a barometer of the quality of educational opportunity provided throughout the state of Georgia.  

As such, Georgia Milestones serves as a key component of the state’s accountability system – the College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI).  

What content areas and grade levels are tested?

Students in grades 3 through 8 take an end-of-grade assessment in English Language Arts and mathematics while students in grades 5 and 8 are also assessed in science and social studies.  High school students take an end-of-course assessment for each of the ten courses designated by the State Board of Education.?

Results of the Milestones are used to measure Georgia schools' progress under the federal law known as No Child Left Behind. The results will also provide input for schools' decisions on whether to retain students or pass them on to the next grade (but not during the 2014-15 school year).

For an explanation of constructed / extended responses on the tests, click here.

How can students (and families) prepare? Here are SEVEN WAYS!

1. First and foremost, students can prepare by attending school each day and working to master and exceed the Georgia Performance Standards.
2. Students who spend plenty of leisure time reading enjoyable materials (year-round - including the summer) position themselves favorably to perform well, because reading builds effective thinkers. The Reading/Language Arts, Social Studies, Science and Mathematics tests all exercise the ability to critically read grade level text.
3. Also, we ask parents to remember that your children are never too old to listen when adults read aloud to them. As students reach upper elementary grades, read longer novels aloud together.
   Many current feature films (Mr. Popper's Penguins, etc.) only made it to the big screen because they are wonderful books in the first place--books to be shared.
4. Glyndale also provides Study Island, a software package, for students (3-5) to use in preparation for the CRCT. Students who work on Study Island with an encouraging and questioning adult, talking through the subject matter together, benefit the most.
5. The state of Georgia provides another online tool, formerly known as the the Online Assessment System - OAS -which supplies students with sample test questions (not instruction). New links under a new name will be available soon.

Click on the logo at left to use the OAS, or use the link from our drop-down menu for Students. For a student user guide, click here. To login, the username is the student's 10-digit GTID (parents can find this "state ID number" on Infinite Campus, and students have been provided with this number). The password is student.

6. Official study guides, prepared by the state, will be available eventually.

  What else can we do at home to prepare our students for success?

1. a) Make sure your child attends school regularly. Remember that tests reflect the overall achievement of your child. Time spent in learning situations increases the likelihood that he/she will do well on tests.
   
   b) Give your child encouragement. Praise him/her for the things done well throughout the year. A child who is afraid of failing is more likely to make a mistake.
   
   c) See that your child has a well-rounded diet. A healthy body leads to a healthy, active mind.
   
   d) See that your child completes homework assignments. Homework supports classroom instruction and can help your child increase his/her comprehension of the classroom work.
   
   e) Meet with your child's teacher(s) as often as possible to discuss your child's progress.
   
   f) Parents and teachers should work together to benefit the child.
   
   g) Ask the teacher(s) to suggest activities for you to do at home with your child. Such activities can help your child improve his/her understanding of schoolwork.
   
   h) Make sure your child is well rested on school days. Children who are tired are less likely to pay attention in class or to handle the demands of class work and tests.
   
   i) Try not to be overly anxious about test scores. Too much emphasis on test scores can be upsetting to children.
   
   j) Find out which tests your child will take and for what purposes. The school principal or counselor should provide you with a schedule of testing for the year and explain the use of the tests.
   
   k) Make sure your child arrives on time for school.
   
   l) If your child wears an assistive device, such as a hearing aid and/or glasses, be sure he/she remembers to bring it and wear it during all testing sessions.  (quoted from Test-taking tips for Parents/Guardians Chapel Hill Elementary School, Decatur, Georgia):

• Georgia has been granted a waiver from the usual regulations of No Child Left Behind regulations. Instead, the Georgia Department of Education has designed a College and Career Ready Performance Index, including new guidelines for Pre-K - 12 schools, that changed our accountability emphases and practices beginning in 2012-2013. For further information about the Performance Index in elementary schools, click here. Also, here is waiver information from Glynn County's Director of Federal Programs. Please read: