MACON, Ga. — For students in grades 3 through 12 in Georgia, the end of the school year marks standardized testing. Now, a new waiver submitted by the state could change that for the upcoming school year.
"The tests are a milestone to let us know where our students are, tell us how our students are performing based on standards each year," says Tony Jones, who oversees testing for Bibb County Schools.
He says standardized testing is important for each school year.
"It lets us know how students did compared to their peer group. Plus it also tells us how students did compared to the standards, did the students master standards that they were taught?" he says.
In a release, the state Department of Education and Governor Brian Kemp's office says this decision was made so more money could go towards the classroom and let students adjust to being back at school.
Jones says if the waiver is approved, suspending testing for next school year won't harm how the district tracks progress.
"We have our own progress assessments that we'll take a look at. One of the things we did this year when we sent our report cards home, we gave parents the reports of how their students did compared to the standards," says Jones.
Howard Middle School teacher Eric Fuller says if the waiver does get approved, it won't change his lesson plans because there are still other ways to check progress.
"We're teachers, we want students to learn, we still have formative assessments, we're still being watched, if you would, process checking, to ensure we're expecting what we expect," says Fuller.
The state says the next step is to wait for approval from the U.S. Department of Education.
Georgia is the first state in the country to submit the testing waiver for the upcoming school year.
STAY ALERT | Download our FREE app now to receive breaking news and weather alerts. You can find the app on the Apple Store and Google Play.
STAY UPDATED | Click here to subscribe to our Midday Minute newsletter and receive the latest headlines and information in your inbox every day.
Have a news tip? Email news@13wmaz.com, or visit our Facebook page.