Some students may dream of doing away with tests altogether. While that’s not likely to happen anytime soon, the Georgia Senate did pass a bill this week that would reduce the number of tests public school students are required to take.
In a unanimous vote, the Senate OK’d Senate Bill 367, which eliminates five required tests, shortens the length of tests for younger students and changes the testing window. Even if the bill becomes law, Georgia students will still take two more standardized tests than the federal government requires. They are high school social studies and an eighth-grade Georgia history assessment.
In addition to making some students happy, the move is likely to please parents and teachers, too. State Sen. P.K. Martin, a Republican from Lawrenceville, is the bill’s sponsor and chairs the Senate’s Education and Youth Committee. Martin told lawmakers the number one complaint his office receives is that schools give too many tests.
“This places too much pressure on our students, on our teachers surrounding these tests,” he said. “So, what we wanted to do was address this issue this session.”
The bill has the support of Gov. Brian Kemp and state schools Superintendent Richard Woods. In a press conference last month announcing the bill, Kemp said one of the top concerns he hears from students, parents, and teachers is that schools give too many high-stakes tests.
