From the Cobb County School District:
In an effort to eliminate double testing and the number of tests Georgia students are required to take, the State Board of Education, Governor Kemp, and Superintendent Woods approved a policy revision that eliminates the End-of-Course-Test (EOC) for International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement students.
Specifically, the rule change applies to students in the following courses: AP Language and Composition, AP US History, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, IB English A Literature, IB Economics, and IB History of the Americas. The updated policy goes into effect on November 27.
The rule change, which Superintendent Chris Ragsdale fully supports, means almost 4,000 Cobb students will take 5,000 fewer EOC assessments in the 2019-2020 school year. Students are not required to take the AP test for the exemption.
How does the change impact Cobb students?
Until the policy change, state law required that the EOC serve as 20 percent of the final course grade. In order to maintain the current course weightings outlined in each teacher’s syllabus for the 2019-2020 school year, the District considered options to keep the course grading as consistent as possible.
Based on input from teachers, principals, and discussions with peer districts, the Cobb County School District staff determined that the best way forward this school year is to replace the EOC grade with a district-created assessment, which will function as a comprehensive exam.
“We are going to ensure that no student’s grade in these IB and AP classes are negatively impacted. We are putting in an assessment that is fair and equitable across the board,” said Superintendent Ragsdale.
From expanding the district-created assessments in the Cobb Teaching and Learning System to the opening of the new Cobb Innovation and Technology Academy in Fall 2020, Cobb Schools staff will continue to look for opportunities to best position students for future college and career opportunities.
Here’s more from the Georgia Department of Education, which earlier this month also ended end-of-course Milestones tests for students in some dual enrollment programs.
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