The State Board of Education approved the State School Superintendent’s recommendation to eliminate End of Course testsfor students in many dual enrollment courses, provided those students pass the course and receive college credit.

With the exception of 9th Grade Literature and Composition, Algebra I, Coordinate Algebra, and Biology, students are now exempt from taking the Georgia Milestones End-of-Course assessment for a core subject course if they earn a post-secondary credit in that course through dual enrollment pursuant to O.C.G.A. 20-2-149.2 or 20-2-161.3.

Students must take the EOC in Ninth Grade Literature and Composition, Algebra I or Coordinate Algebra, and Biology due to federal laws that require assessments in math, ELA/reading, and science at least once in high school. All other high school EOCs can now be exempted for students in corresponding dual enrollment courses.

“We have consistently heard from parents, educators, and students about the issues associated with requiring an End-of-Course assessment for a college course, and we firmly agreed that a solution was needed,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “We are confident that students receiving post-secondary credit from Georgia’s institutions of higher education have met and exceeded the requirements set forth in a high school course. Providing the opportunity to exempt the EOC in the majority of cases where students are receiving college credit is another step toward responsible accountability and a further reduction of the volume of assessment required of Georgia’s schools and students.”

The rule amendment approved today includes language pursuant to Senate Bill 364 eliminating testing in grades 3, 4, 6, and 7 in science and social studies. It also includes language pursuant to Senate Bill 364 that adds, subject to appropriations, formative assessments in reading and mathematics to grades one and two. This language refers to diagnostic assessments that help teachers assess students’ progress, not high-stakes assessments at the end of the year.

“I fully supported Senator Lindsey Tippins’ bill, SB 364, because it reduces the number of state-mandated tests students have to take,” Superintendent Woods said. “With the passage of the testing rule today,  we have integrated the SB 364 language, eliminating testing requirements in grades 3, 4, 6, and 7 in science and social studies, freeing schools to focus on literacy and numeracy in the early grades, giving students a better foundation for success.”