Efforts falter to develop new Georgia K-12 state tests

ATLANTA (AP) — An effort to transform how Georgia tests its K-12 public school students is faltering and may not achieve its goals.

One of two groups involved in the effort told the state Board of Education on Wednesday that it has suspended work after a testing company pulled out. The other group is still moving ahead, but faces continuing questions about whether its test can be comparable to the existing state Milestones tests.

The two groups of school districts launched in 2019, aiming to create not just one big test that's given at the end of the year, but a series of smaller tests given throughout the year. The tests combined would sum up student performance.

State Superintendent Richard Woods, a longtime skeptic of standardized testing, sees federal rules governing the pilot programs as one obstacle, saying the U.S. Department of Education’s Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority isn’t truly allowing for innovation.

“We want you to be flexible and creative, but we want you to use the same kind of test,” is how Woods summed up the federal position on Thursday, saying getting federal permission to replace current tests “is a very difficult, uphill climb.”

Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina are also exploring alternative approaches to traditional tests.

Georgia hopes year-round smaller tests could guide teachers and students on what state standards they have mastered and what areas need improvement. Now, districts get results after the school year is over, too late to make changes.

“The promise of a formative assessment agency is you get much more current feedback, so it can direct instruction,” said state Sen. Lindsey Tippins, a Marietta Republican who authored a 2018 state law authorizing the pilots.

Because almost all districts...