Georgia Milestones
Assessment System
“Georgia’s Changing Assessment Landscape”
Rockdale County Public Schools
Terrence Martin, Assistant Superintendent
Saturday, September 20, 2014’
What is the Georgia Milestones?
The Georgia Milestones Assessment System (Georgia
Milestones) is a comprehensive summative assessment
program spanning grades 3 through high school.
Georgia Milestones measures how well our students
have learned the knowledge and skills outlined in the
state-adopted content standards in language arts,
mathematics, science, and social studies.
New Georgia Milestones
Comprehensive
Single program - not a series of tests (e.g. CRCT, EOCT, GaWriting)
Coherent
Consistent expectations and rigor to position Georgia students to
compete with peers nationally and internationally.
Consistent signal about student preparedness for the next level.
Consistent signal about student achievement both within system (across
grades and courses) and with external measures (NAEP, PSAT, SAT,
ACT).
Consolidate
Combine reading, language arts, and writing into a single measure to
align to standards.
New Georgia Milestones
Georgia Milestones
Grades 3 – 8
 End of Grade (EOG) in language arts, mathematics,
science, social studies
High School
 End of Course (EOC) in 9th Grade Literature &
Composition, American Literature & Composition,
Coordinate Algebra, Analytic Geometry, Physical Science,
Biology, US History, and Economics
New Georgia Milestones
Georgia Milestones
Elementary, Middle, High
Ga. Milestones Assessments will be designed to:
• Provide a valid measure of student achievement of state
content standards (Common Core) across the full
achievement continuum
• Provide a clear signal of student’s preparedness for next
level
• Be accessible to all students, including those with
disabilities or limited English proficiency, at all
achievement levels
New Georgia Milestones
Georgia Milestones
Elementary, Middle, High
Ga. Milestones Assessments will be designed to:
• Suitable for promotion and retention decisions at grades 3
(reading), 5 (reading & math) and 8 (reading & math);
waived for SY 2014-2015
• Serve as the final exam for EOC courses (High School).
Contributing 20% to final course grade; waived for SY 2014-2015
• Support and inform educator effectiveness measures
• Inform state and federal accountability at the school,
district, and state levels
New Georgia Milestones
Georgia Milestones:
Unique Features
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Georgia Milestones Features
Include…
 Inclusion of constructed-response items in English
Language Arts and Mathematics
 Inclusion of a writing component at every grade level
and course within English Language Arts assessment
 Inclusion of norm-referenced items in every grade and
content area (complement criterion-referenced items) to
provide national comparison
 Transition to online testing administration over 5 years
Transition to Online
Assessments
Year 1 {SY 2014-15}: minimum of 30%
{SY 2015-16}
Year 3 {SY 2016-17}: minimum of 80%
{SY 2017-18}
Year 5 {SY 18-19}: minimum of 100%
New Georgia Milestones
Blended Model:
Criterion-Referenced & Norm-Referenced
Georgia Milestones will provide:
Criterion-referenced performance information
(performance levels) depicting students’ mastery of
state standards (Common Core)
Norm-referenced performance information (national
percentiles) depicting how students’ achievement
compares to peers nationally
New Georgia Milestones
Norm-Reference Test Items
(NRT)
Each content area/course test will contain 20 normreferenced items
The 20 NRT items will provide a national percentile
score to provide a barometer of national comparison.
Approximately 10 of these items have been reviewed
by Georgia educators for alignment to the grade
level/course content standards.
Only those NRT items judged to be aligned by Georgia educators
will contribute to the criterion-referenced proficiency designations
of students.
The NRT items were selected to reflect the
full TerraNova subtest for each content
area. National Comparison
Georgia Milestones
It is important to remember that Georgia
Milestones is primarily a criterion-referenced
test, reflecting the content standards for each
grade and course taught.
Teachers will be expected to continue to teach the Georgia state-adopted content
standards (Common Core Georgia Performance Standards)
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Georgia Milestones
Item Types
Selected-response (multiple-choice)
• All content areas,
• Evidence-based selected response in ELA
Constructed-response
• ELA and mathematics
Extended-response
• ELA and mathematics
Technology Enhanced
 to begin in 2016-2017
Constructed response: Requires
students to generate a response
opposed to selecting a response
Extended-response: Requires
students to generate more elaborate
answers and explanation of
reasoning.
Examining Georgia Milestones:
Item Types
Example – Grade 3 Mathematics – Fractions
Multiple Choice
Which fraction is largest?
A
B
C
D
The content and presentation of these items are
for illustrative purposes only.
Constructed Response
George and Ana each had a 12-inch pizza. Both pizzas were split into 8 equal
pieces. The shaded pieces are the portion of their pizzas that George and Ana
ate.
George
Ana
Express in fractions how much pizza George and Ana ate. Use the symbol <,
=, or > to show who ate more pizza.
George
Ana
>
The content and presentation of these items are
for illustrative purposes only.
George
12 inches
George
12 inches
12 inches
The content and presentation of these items are
for illustrative purposes only.
Constructed Response
Ana
9 inches
Carlos
Technology Enhanced
>
The content and presentation of these items are
for illustrative purposes only.
Georgia Milestones:
General Test Parameters
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Georgia Milestones
General Test Parameters
 English Language Arts will consists of 3 sections, 1 of
which will focus mainly on writing
 Mathematics will consist of 2 sections
 Science will consist of 2 sections
 Social Studies will consist of 2 sections
Each section will be approximately 70 minutes.
Georgia Milestones
General Test Parameters
Tested Content Area
# of Items Writing Tasks
English Language Arts
60 Items
3 Constructed Response;
1 Extended Response
Mathematics
73 Items
3 Constructed Response
Science
75 Items
None
Social Studies
75 Items
None
Writing Genres
Writing prompts will be informative/explanatory or
opinion/argumentative depending on the grade level.
Students could encounter either genre.
Georgia Milestones
Writing at Every Grade
All students will encounter a constructed-response item
allowing for narrative prose, in response to text, within first
or second section of the test.
Writing Section…
 3 selected-response items asking about the salient features
of each passage and comparing/contrasting between the two
passages
 1 constructed-response item requiring linking the two
passages
 1 writing prompt in which students must cite evidence to
support their conclusions, claims, etc.
Georgia Milestones: Scoring Rubrics
Constructed Response Rubrics are item specific and
therefore cannot be released.
The extended-response analytic writing rubric will be
released. Students will be scored on two features:
• Idea Development, Organization, & Coherence
• Language Usage & Conventions
RCPS Preparation for
Georgia Milestones…
 Provide professional learning for teachers in developing and
scoring open-ended questions for constructed & extended
response test items.
 Equip teachers with instructional tools for effective teaching
around the Georgia Common Core Standards.
 Provide increased opportunities for open-response questions in
local RCPS Benchmark assessments.
 Provide increased opportunities for open-response questions in
4.5 weekly assessments.
 Embed opportunities for Benchmark assessments to be
administered on-line at specific grade levels.
Georgia Milestones:
Parent Resources
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Georgia Dept. of Education
http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-andAssessment/Assessment/Pages/Georgia-Milestones-Assessment
Milestones Resources…
• Accommodation Policies
Allowable Accommodations for English Learners
Allowable Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
• Georgia Milestones Calculator Policy
• Parents’ Guide to New Test in Georgia – National PTA
Parent Guide To Milestones
National PTA: www.pta.org
Parent’s guide to Georgia’s new assessment developed by the
National PTA [http://www.pta.org/advocacy/content.cfm?ItemNumber=3816]
Transition to Georgia Milestones:
Resources Available Soon
 Sample items specific to Georgia Milestones
 Ancillary support resources, such as




Assessment Guides
Student Study Guides
Informational videos [parents & public /educators]
Online Practice Center (to aid students in gaining familiarity for
CTB’s online test administration system)
 RCPS Website Link for Information
Lexiles with
stReadiness Indicators
Lexiles
Grade 3
Grade 4
Common Core Stretch Text – Lower Limit
520
740
830
925
970
1010
Common Core Stretch Text – Upper Limit
820
940
1010
1070
1120
1185
On Track
625
775
845
930
970
1070
Commendable
890
990
1085
1155
1210
1265
Meets
410
570
650
685
800
805
Exceeds
790
915
1040
1120
1210
1265
US Typical Reader – Lower Limit
330
445
565
665
735
805
US Typical Reader – Upper Limit
700
810
910
1000
1065
1100
Georgia 2013 Median
790
860
940
1070
1095
1210
Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8
OPPORTUNITY…
Georgia Milestones will provide an
opportunity to recalibrate, as a state, and
refocus on Teaching and Learning as a
primary emphasis with assessment and
accountability serving a supporting role.
Terrence Martin, Assistant Superintendent
Rockdale County Public Schools
The Office of School Improvement
Research, Assessments & Accountability
Phone: 770-860-4243
Questions & Answers
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