Session at Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany focuses on Georgia Milestones Assessment

MCLB-ALBANY — Officials from Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany conducted a “Lunch and Learn” session for active-duty service members and their spouses at the base’s Town and Country Ballroom on Thursday to educate parents of children in grades 3-12 who will be taking the Georgia Milestones Assessment tests — which are still relatively new to the state’s parents, students and teachers — in April.

Anthony Eitel, director of accountability and assessment for the Georgia Department of Education, facilitated the event to give parents with base access the context of the test — which is now in its second year. The points included dynamics of the new tests versus the prior assessments, how students are assessed, what teachers are doing to prepare students for testing, ways parents can help prepare their children for the test and testing accommodations for children with special needs.

“It’s a continuing education approach, so we are continuing to hit audiences in a variety of ways,” said Eitel of the motivation to do such sessions.

The Georgia Milestones Assessment tests, which replaced the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test, or CRCT, last year, is an assessment meant to measure how well students have learned the knowledge and skills outlined in the state-adopted content standards in language arts, mathematics, science and social studies.

It is designed to function as a multiple choice and open-ended writing test, differing from testing methods used previously that were primarily multiple choice. Guidelines for testing prior to the Milestones tests were thrown out when it appeared evident those methods were not cutting it when it came to gauging a student’s ability and knowledge base, prompting the need to have a system from which a score would mean something.

“(The prior testing) gave out mixed signals,” Eitel said. “We were telling kids they were more prepared then they were, and that was not fair.”

Achievement levels are broken down to “Beginning Learners,” “Developing Learners,” “Proficient Learners” and “Distinguished Learners,” which also differs from the old testing system.

“‘Does not meet’ was not telling teachers enough information,” Eitel said.

Eitel added that accommodations made for children with special needs in Georgia are considered liberal in comparison to other states to ensure they can access the test without helping them too much.

“If they can’t access the assessment and show you what they know, that’s a problem,” he said.

A website, testing.gadoe.org, provides content samples and an assessment guide for students and parents to utilize.

“There is no secret what is on a Georgia Milestones Assessment … Items are secure, but there are no secrets about what we assess,” Eitel said