Georgia high school final exams could count for less in push to change grading system

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Currently, at least 20% of a Georgia high schooler’s final grade for a class hinges on their final exam.

The state board of education recently voted to allow individual districts to lower the weight to as low as 10%. The final vote was nine to three.

Individual school districts will have the opportunity to adopt this change or keep the current grading system.

The Georgia Association of Educators is in support of the decision. Director Lisa Morgan said lowering the threshold encourages teachers to focus on teaching, instead of gearing their lessons to individualized tests.

“We do not believe that a single score on a single test on a single day should ever be used to judge our students. The overemphasis on standardized testing has had an impact. Everyone’s focused on the test and the test score. And we are not focused on- did the children learn the content” said Morgan.

Despite the changes, students will still be required to pass these exams to get credit for their courses.

“One of the impacts of all this testing, testing, testing, the over-testing has been that children either become overly anxious about them, or it’s just another test. And they’re no longer serious about them,” said Morgan.

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