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Georgia: Standards, Instruction and Assessment:

State: Georgia Department of Education

Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT)

What is the purpose of the CRCT?

The CRCT is designed to measure how well students acquire the skills and knowledge described in the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) and the Quality Core Curriculum (QCC). The assessments yield information on academic achievement at the student, class, school, system, and state levels. This information is used to diagnose individual student strengths and weaknesses as related to the instruction of the GPS/QCC, and to gauge the quality of education throughout Georgia.

What content areas and grade levels are tested?

Georgia law, as amended by the A+ Education Reform Act of 2000, requires that all students in grades one through eight take the CRCT in the content areas of reading, English/language arts, and mathematics. Students in grades three through eight are also assessed in science and social studies. The CRCT only assesses the content standards outlined in the GPS/QCC.

When was the CRCT implemented?

The CRCT was implemented in spring 2000. That year, summative, end-of-year assessments in reading, English/language arts, and mathematics were administered in grades four, six, and eight. Assessments in science and social studies (grades three through eight) were administered for the first time in spring 2002. Additionally, assessments in reading, English/language arts, and mathematics were administered in grades one, two, three, five, and seven in spring 2002.

How is content tested?

Currently, the mandated end-of-year assessments contain selected-response items only; however, a small number of constructed-response items may be included in subsequent years.

How does the CRCT differ from a norm-referenced test (NRT)?

Criterion-referenced tests, such as the CRCT, are designed to measure how well students acquire, learn, and accomplish the knowledge and skills set forth in a specific curriculum or unit of instruction. The CRCT, therefore, is specifically intended to test Georgia's performance/content standards outlined in the GPS and QCC. Norm-referenced tests (NRT), such as the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), measure instructional standards commonly taught throughout the entire United States of America. Additionally, NRTs highlight differences between and among students across an achievement continuum.

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