Georgia Milestones Parent Night Tosha Oliver, Assistant Principal Jamar Robinson, Administrative Assistant March 5, 2015

Welcome and Purpose of Session To inform parents about the new Georgia Milestones Assessments Share up to date information on EOC Spring Test-Out Share updates on SAT Re-Design

Georgia Milestones Purpose Georgia Milestones is designed to provide information about how well students are mastering the state adopted content standards in the core content areas of English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.

Assessment Question Types Georgia Milestones includes the item types described below: Open-ended (constructed-response) items in English Language Arts and Mathematics (all grades and courses) A writing component (in response to passages read by students) at every grade level and course within the English Language Arts assessments Nationally norm-referenced items in all content areas and courses to complement the Georgia criterion-referenced information and to provide a national comparison Multiple-choice items in all content areas and courses.

Modes of Assessments Georgia Milestones will be transitioned to online testing over time. Online is considered the primary mode of testing, with paper-and-pencil available as backup until the transition is complete. Online Assessments-Physical Science Economics Biology U. S. History Paper/Pencil Assessments-Coordinate Algebra Analytic Geometry American Literature 9 th Grade Literature

Georgia Milestones Spring Schedule Monday, April 27 th -29 th 9th Grade Literature, American Literature, Biology Thursday, April 30 th -May 1 st 9 th Grade Literature & American Literature (Writing Only), Economics Monday, May 4 th -6 th Coordinate Algebra, Analytic Geometry, U.S. History Thursday, May 7 th -8 th Physical Science

GA Milestones Resources Resources to help your student prepare for Georgia Milestones are available on the Georgia Department of Education’s website at To see what online testing is like, you and your student may visit the Experience Online Testing Georgia website at The items on the demonstration tests are general and represent multiple grade levels. They do not assess student achievement.

Online Tools Available for All Students Blocking Tool Highlighter Eraser Magnifying Glass Mark for Review Online Calculator – if allowable Option Eliminator Scratch Pad (Unavailable for iPAD until Spring 2015)

EOC GA Milestones Diagnostics Wednesday, March 11 th -13 th Biology9 th Grade Literature Physical Science 11 th Grade Literature Tuesday, March 17 th -19 th U.S. HistoryCoordinate Algebra EconomicsAnalytic Geometry

EOC Spring Test-Out The state allows students the opportunity to test-out of any course for which there is an associated Georgia Milestones End of Course (EOC) and earn credit for the course through that process. Course credit shall only be awarded to students who reach the performance level of Exceeds on an EOC taken prior to taking the course.

EOC Spring Test-Out Student Eligibility Requirements: The student has never been enrolled in the course. The student must have earned a minimum numerical grade of 80 in a prerequisite course in the same content area as the selected EOC. The student must receive recommendations from his/her school counselor AND from his/her teacher for the prerequisite course. The student must receive parent/guardian permission if the student is less than 18 years of age. Students 18 or over and emancipated minor students may complete the permission form themselves.

EOC Test-Out Score Reporting Due to the first year of Georgia Milestones implementation, students will not receive results until fall This could impact scheduling for next school year. Students are strongly encouraged to attend tutorials each week on Tuesday and Thursday in the Fall to stay abreast of course work for the next progression in the content sequence to prevent missing pertinent foundational skills for that course should they earn the score required to receive course credit for the course for which they attempted to test-out.

SAT Re-Design The new PSAT goes into effect this year, October 2015 The first new SAT is in March 2016 (last SAT using the current version of the test is in January 2016) College Board full length practice tests for PSAT/SAT will be released next month Colleges will most likely accept both old and new scores once the test changes

SAT Re-Design What’s New? The test is primarily meant to align with the Common Core Competencies The new test will not directly test vocabulary There will be no penalty for wrong answers

SAT Re-Design What’s New? More algebra, less geometry; students will also need to be accountable for remembering more definitions, formulas and math structures than they currently need to More ACT-style interpretation of charts, tables and graphs The new Essay section is optional (but all students need to take it at least once, like the current version of the ACT). The essay will also be different - more challenging and analytical (more like a college essay assignment. More Information on the New SAT can be found at: new-sat/

EOC Break Out Sessions 9 th Grade Parents Biology-Lewis (room 405) 9 th Grade Literature- Holliman (room 411) Coordinate Algebra- Gladden (room 415) 10 th Grade Parents Physical Science- Jackson (room 403) Analytical Geometry- Paschal (room 417) 11 th Grade Parents American Literature- Hernandez (room 413) U.S. History Garza (room 417) 12 th Grade Parents Economics-Barker (room 422)