State Board of Education withdraws EOC proposal

The State Board of Education (SBOE) withdrew its recommendation of a 10% course grade weight for Georgia Milestones End-of-Course (EOC) exams by vote the week of November 19th.  State Superintendent Richard Woods originally recommended a 0.1 % weight.

The original proposal took place at the October meeting. Georgia’s request to waive standardized testing requirements for 2020/2021 was denied by US Education Secretary Betsy Devos.

Large majorities of Georgians supported the original .01% proposal, The State Board of Education voted on November 30th to withdraw the 10% recommendation. As legally required, the .01% recommendation will be posted for public comment.

If the SBOE votes to approve the .01% weight in December, Gilmer may recalculate grades for students who have already tested.

Superintendent Woods went onto say,” I appreciate the State Board of Education hearing and responding to the clear will of the people on this issue, and hope that will continue with a vote to approve the .01% recommendation in December. My position on this has not changed: it is logistically, pedagogically, and morally unreasonable to administer high-stakes standardized tests in the middle of a pandemic. If the federal government is going to continue insisting on the administration of these exams, it is incumbent on us at the state level to ensure they are not high-stakes and do not penalize students and teachers for circumstances beyond their control.”

In a survey taken from October 2 to November 17, Georgians were asked to select their course weights for EOC’s in 2020-2021.

A total of 93,079 responded with 86.31% stating the weight should be .01%, 11.35% stating it should be 10% and 2.34% stating it should be 20%.

500 individuals responded with detailed public comments sharing the impact high-stakes tests during a pandemic would have on their students and classrooms.

The board will vote on the updated proposal later this month.