The state Department of Education (GaDOE) released results of the 2023-24 Georgia Milestones assessment tests late last week, and while Georgia students showed continued improvement in most areas of the tests, there were minor decreases in reading status in some grade levels. Students take Georgia Milestones End of Grade (EOG) tests in grades 3-8, and Georgia Milestones End of Course (EOC) tests in identified high school courses.
“As a state, we have invested in academic recovery and the support districts need to get all students on track for successful futures. There is certainly still work to be done, but I am confident we are on the right path,” said State School Superintendent Richard Woods.
The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE) — an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit working to improve student achievement and workforce development in Georgia– said the assessment results show opportunities.
“Overall, there’s much to be encouraged by,” said Dr. Dana Rickman, president of GPEE. “The upward trend, especially on the Grades 5 and 6 ELA assessments, is promising. At the same time, as we dig deeper into the results by district and schools, we see opportunities for growth and improvement. We know that schools are still struggling with the unique challenges that emerged during the pandemic.” When looking at district level data, the percent of third graders that were proficient and above on the English Language Arts (ELS) milestone ranged from 7 percent to 85 percent.”
There were minor decreases in Reading Status in some grade levels, including high school (American Literature & Composition) and state officials said this underscores the need for a focus on literacy across the curriculum with strong fundamentals in the early grades but supports for middle and high school as well.
GaDOE is placing full-time literacy coaches in elementary schools throughout the state, focusing on the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools. The state department has also expanded the grade levels covered by the BEACON formative assessment, which is aligned to Georgia Milestones and provided at no cost to Georgia school districts and has made tutoring options available to Georgia students through the GaTutor program in high school and the AmeriCorps tutoring program.
As GPEE has documented through its multi-year CARES Impact Study, which is examining Georgia’s school districts’ use of the federal COVID relief funds, Georgia school districts have invested these funds not only to improve core instruction, but also to design and deliver interventions that accelerate student learning and address students’ unmet mental health and wellbeing needs. While these funds have been critical for schools’ pandemic recovery efforts, they are set to expire in September 2024.
“What is of great concern to us,” Dr. Rickman stated, “is what Georgia’s Milestones results may look like in the coming years, especially considering we are now at the end of that infusion of much needed resource dollars. For districts who have buoyed themselves over the last three years with federal dollars, outperforming or even sustaining this year’s results could prove challenging, especially for our most at-risk students. We recognize, however, that there are likely several districts whose ESSER investments have helped develop promising practices that will yield ongoing positive outcomes and could be replicated across the state. The Partnership is currently working on identifying and lifting-up those districts and their practices.”
