what is the georgia milestones assessment system?
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome Parents!
There’s a new test in town…….
The Georgia Milestones Assessment System
What is the Georgia Milestones Assessment System?
The Georgia Milestones Assessment System (Georgia Milestones) is: • a comprehensive (summative) assessment system spanning
grades 3 through high school.
• an assessment that measures how well students have learned the knowledge and skills outlined in the state-adopted content standards in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.
End-of Grade (EOG) and End-of-Course(EOC)
EOG – 3rd – 8th Grades in all content area Language Arts, Math, Social Studies and Science
EOC – 9th – 12th Grade in each of the eight courses designated by the State Board of Education.
Language Arts Ninth Grade Literature and Composition American Literature and Composition
Mathematics Coordinate Algebra * Analytic Geometry
Science Physical Science* Biology
Social Studies United States History Economics/Business/Free Enterprise
What is the purpose of Georgia Milestones?
Georgia Milestones is designed to:
provide information about how well students are mastering the standards in the core content
provide students with critical information their readiness for their next level of learning—be it the next grade, the next course, or the next endeavor (college or career).
increase rigor to position Georgia students to compete with peers nationally and internationally
The Ga. Milestones will not be used as
promotion criteria this year.
Why is the state changing to the Georgia Milestones?
The Georgia Milestones is replacing the CRCT (Criterion Reference Competency Test) and EOCT (End of Course Test)
The retired CRCT consisted of a series of individual tests, including reading, language arts and writing. Except for the writing test, the CRCT was multiple choice (selected response)
The CRCT, Writing Assessment (grades 3, 5 and 8) and End of Course Tests will now be combined into a single assessment system that aligns more directly with the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards.
What types of questions are on the Georgia Milestones assessments?
Georgia Milestones includes the item types described below:
Constructed-response (open-ended) items in English
Language Arts and Mathematics that require students to provide elaborate responses to explain their answers or reasoning.
Extended response -a writing component in response to passages read by students
What types of questions are on the Georgia Milestones assessments?
Continued……
selected response (multiple-choice) items in all content areas and courses
nationally norm-referenced items in all content areas and courses to complement the Georgia criterion-referenced information and to provide a national comparison
**Refer to the “Frequently Asked Questions on Georgia Milestones” handout for some examples.
What does that mean for my student?
There will be more writing within the test including short-answer and open-ended questions.
Students will have to reason and problem solve throughout the testby elaborating and explaining answers.
Rigor does not always mean difficult. It can refer to the quality or state of something. Student engagement is key.
Which math question shows rigor? a. Find the missing addend. 13 + __ = 24 b. Explain how subtraction can be used to find a missing addend?
Approximate Percent of Test by Domain & Grade
Refer to “Content Weights” handout for information on the approximate weights for each domain on the Ga. Milestones assessment.
Content Weights for the 2014-2015
School Year http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-
Assessment/Assessment/Documents/Georgia_Milestones_Content_Weights_2014-15_FINAL.pdf
What scores do students receive on Georgia Milestones?
The state-adopted content standards set specific academic benchmarks and expectations for all students in Georgia’s public schools.
Georgia Milestones measures how well a student has acquired the knowledge and skills outlined in the standards for his or her grade level.
Student achievement in each content area is classified into performance levels.
Student test results will be provided to parents and schools.
What scores do students receive on the Georgia Milestones?
Nationally norm-referenced items to provide a signal of how Georgia students are achieving relative to their peers nationally.
Performance on the English Language Arts portion of Georgia Milestones is linked to the Lexile scale, a national reading measure that matches students to appropriately challenging reading materials.
For more information about the Lexile scale, as well as resources to help select literature for your student, visit www.gadoe.org/lexile.aspx on the Georgia Department of Education website.
When do students take the assessments?
Students will take the assessments on days specified by their local school system within designated state testing windows.
Gwinnett County Assessment Dates:
EOG – April 20 – May 1 (End of Grade)
EOC - April 27 – May 15 (End of Course)
Are students with disabilities or students who are English Learners required to take Georgia Milestones?
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandate that all students participate in the state assessment program.
Students with limited English proficiency who enrolled in a U.S. school for the first time may receive a one-year deferment from assessment in EOG content areas other than Mathematics and Science. Deferments are not permitted for EOC assessments.
What are teachers and students doing to prepare for the Georgia Milestones?
Students in Ms. Bullock’s 8th grade Gifted Physical Science classes are preparing for
the EOC by using:
Coach Books for warm-ups at the beginning of class
Study Island questions for warm-ups
USAtestprep in the computer lab. (This site is for the High School course only)
What are teachers and students doing to prepare for the Georgia Milestones?
“My students are practicing locating and highlighting 'textual evidence' in various texts to support and justify their answers. We also use the R.A.C.E. method (R= Restate the question, A=answer, C=Cite evidence from the text, E=Explain your answer) to create constructed responses.”
What are teachers and students doing to prepare for the Georgia Milestones?
Ms. Sadri’s class uses the "Powerful Words", "Quick Write", "Written Conversation", and "Write Around with graphic organizers” to annotate texts.
Dr. Welch reminds us that “Homeroom Focus and Target Time” prep students for the Milestones test everyday.
Shiloh MS and Gwinnett County coaches provide ongoing professional development related to Ga. Milestones for teachers.
What can I do to help my student?
Students who are prepared, calm, and rested perform better on tests. Here are some of the many ways to help your student approach Georgia Milestones in a relaxed, positive way
• Encourage your student to employ
good study and test-taking skills.
These skills include following directions
carefully, avoiding careless errors
and reviewing work.
• Explain the purpose of the tests. The assessments give students an opportunity to show what they have learned in school. They also give teachers information that helps them plan instruction.
What can I do to help my student?
Point out that some items may be more difficult than others.
Be certain your student gets plenty of sleep and has
a healthy breakfast and lunch. Taking tests is hard
work for many students and can require a lot of energy.
Make sure your student is at school on time. Rushing and worrying about being late could affect performance on the tests.
Remember to ask your student about the testing at the end of each day.
Where can I find more resources about the Georgia Milestones?
Resources to help your student prepare for Georgia Milestones are available on the Georgia Department of Education’s website at http://testing.gadoe.org.
To see what online testing is like, you and your student may visit the Experience Online Testing Georgia website at http://learnoas. ctb.com/GA.
Georgia PTA website at www.pta.org/parentsguide
Georgia Milestones Assessment System
The information in this power point regarding the Georgia Milestones Assessment was taken from the Department of Education website and other official state documents. This information is current as of 02/12/15. Please refer often to www.doe.org for updates or changes to the Georgia Milestones Assessment.
For immediate questions and more information, please contact:
Ms. Scotti McClung, Shiloh MS Testing AP
Ms. Bishonna Jones, Shiloh MS Parent Instructional Coordinator [email protected]