ATLANTA — Results are in for the 2020-2021 Georgia Milestones testing, and they're helping shed light on some of the pandemic's impacts on students.
According to the Georgia Department of Education, Georgia Milestones was designed to measure students' performance in a typical educational environment. However, due to COVID-19, the 2020-2021 school year brought quarantines, rising cases, and shifting instructional models, which impacted students' education.
As a result, scores decreased slightly compared to 2018-2019, the last year the tests were administered. There were also fewer students who participated in the testing compared to the previous time, they said.
According to the Georgia Department of Education, statewide performance decreased by an average of six points in grades 3 to 8 and a range of 4 to 15 points for students in high school.
There was a 1-point increase in Physical Science, but they said, "it is important to note this test was only administered to eighth-grade students in 2019-2020." They added that in previous years, it was administered to all students (middle and high school) enrolled in Physical Science.
“Given the magnitude of learning disruptions experienced this school year, these decreases are not particularly large,” said Dr. Allison Timberlake, GaDOE Deputy Superintendent for Assessment & Accountability. “There is historical precedent to expect to see achievement increase at a similar rate in coming years as we return to educational environments with fewer disruptions to student learning.”
In a release of their own, Cobb County Schools stated that their students "scored higher than students in the 12 other school districts located in metro Atlanta and Georgia students overall, both in all subjects and in the percent of students reading on grade level. "
The district elaborated, saying they "expanded summer enrichment opportunities" to help assist students with any learning loss during the pandemic.