MEDIA CONTACT: Matt Cardoza, GaDOE Communications Office, (404) 651-7358, mcardoza@gadoe.org  

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July 27, 2015 – Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, students will take fewer tests due to a reduction of Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) required for schools to administer.

“I have always believed that we test our students too much,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “Eliminating some of the Student Learning Objectives is a step toward reducing the overall number of tests given to students, which will give our teachers more time for instruction and help our students focus on learning instead of testing. This change is another step toward a more responsible accountability model.”

For Race to the Top school districts, teachers will only be required to administer two SLOs, where they previously administered up to six SLOs. Non-Race to the Top school districts will administer only one SLO, where they also previously administered up to six SLOs. If teachers in a non-Race to the Top district teach a Milestones course (state standardized test), then they would administer no SLOs.

The SLO Assessment reduction will reduce the amount of testing in all schools and classrooms, and lessen the financial and human resources burden on all districts.

Superintendent Woods added, “We have to get back to the business of personalizing, not standardizing, education for our students, and the fewer standardized tests we have in place, the more our teachers can do what they do best – teach."

For more information, click here.​