Families,
As many of you are aware Georgia Milestones Data has officially been released. In this week's Tuesday Packet you will find your scholar's individual data report. As Superintendent Woods stated in his press release "These results show a lower level of student proficiency than Georgians are used to seeing, but that does not mean Georgia students know less or that teachers are not doing a great job - it means they've been asked to clear a higher bar,". As a school we will be working together to draw direct correlations between MAP scores and the GAMS scores so that we can work to ensure our academic rigor and instruction is in alignment with what GAMS is measuring. I have also included some information to help guide your thinking as you review your KIPPsters score report. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out to your appropriate Assistant Principal: Lower School, Ms. Stokes or Upper School, Ms. Brown. If you have questions about what these scores mean for us overall as a school and the direction this information will take us please don't hesitate to reach out to me.
Georgia Milestones assesses student learning along four levels of performance, compared to three, as was the case for the CRCT. These designations aim to shift the focus away from just test scores, instead capturing the progression of students' learning:
Beginning Learners do not yet demonstrate proficiency in the knowledge and skills necessary at this grade level/course of learning, as specified in Georgia's content standards. The students need substantial academic support to be prepared for the next grade level or course and to be on track for college and career readiness.
Developing Learners demonstrate partial proficiency in the knowledge and skills necessary at this grade level/course of learning, as specified by Georgia's content standards. The students need additional academic support to ensure success in the next grade level or course and to be on track for college and career readiness.
Proficient Learners demonstrate proficiency in the knowledge and skills necessary at this grade level/course of learning, as specified in Georgia's content standards. The students are prepared for the next grade level or course and are on track for college and career readiness.
Distinguished Learners demonstrate advanced proficiency in the knowledge and skills necessary at this grade level/course of learning, as specified in Georgia's content standards. The students are well prepared for the next grade level or course and are well prepared for college and career readiness.
Additional performance levels help teachers better pinpoint where their kids are and give students more opportunities to succeed.
"These results show a lower level of student proficiency than Georgians are used to seeing, but that does not mean Georgia students know less or that teachers are not doing a great job - it means they've been asked to clear a higher bar," State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. "Our previous assessment, the CRCT, set some of the lowest expectations for student proficiency in the nation, and that cannot continue. Georgia Milestones sets higher standards for our students and evens the playing field with the rest of the nation - and that's essential if our students are going to succeed in college and their chosen careers, both of which are nationally competitive arenas. We will continue to increase our supports for both students and teachers to ensure this test is more meaningful for all involved."
"For too long we've been telling students they were on track to be successful in college or ready for a career when they graduated high school, yet in many cases they were not," said Dr. Dana Rickman, Policy and Research Director for the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, and a member of the standard-setting review committee. "This is a necessary step to improving education for kids in Georgia. It provides an honest assessment of where we are as a state and where we need to focus our attention to ensure all students are successful."
Students took the CRCT for the last time during the 2013-14 school year, and began taking Georgia Milestones assessments in 2014-15. The new testing system is one consistent program across grades 3-12, rather than a series of individual tests. It includes open-ended questions to better gauge students' content mastery and, with some exceptions for special education students with specific testing accommodations, will be administered entirely online by the fifth year of implementation.
The higher bar for student proficiency set by Georgia Milestones is aimed at better preparing students for college and career and providing a more realistic picture of academic progress. During the administration of the CRCT, Georgia had some of the lowest expectations for student achievement in the nation - an "honesty gap" between students' performance on state assessments and their performance on other measures of student achievement. Georgia Milestones aims to narrow that gap and send a consistent signal about student achievement both within the Georgia system (across grades and courses) and with external measures (such as NAEP, PSAT, SAT, and ACT).
"Over 300 educators from across the state participated in the standard-setting process, including faculty from both the university and technical college systems," said Dr. Melissa Fincher, Deputy Superintendent for Assessment and Accountability. "These teacher-led deliberations closely considered the expectations set forth in our content standards. Teachers made a resounding recommendation to raise our state's expectations for student learning."
Georgia Milestones scores and CRCT scores are not directly comparable. Georgia Milestones and the CRCT are two different tests, with different expectations set for student achievement. Because the expectations set by the Georgia Milestones system are higher, it was expected that the percentage of students considered proficient would initially be lower.
In addition to multiple choice, Georgia Milestones includes constructed response and extended response items which require students to generate, rather than select, responses. The system also assesses writing at each grade level/course, streamlining the testing system and reducing the number of tests students take.
School Accountability
Georgia's school accountability system, the College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI), currently uses CRCT and EOCT results for all areas. Georgia Milestones results will now be used to calculate school and district CCRPI scores, but the 2015 CCRPI is a hold harmless year since this was the first year Georgia Milestones was administered. The GaDOE is exploring the option of schools earning points for Developing Learners, Proficient Learners, Distinguished Learners.
