State School Superintendent Richard Woods announced on July 22, 2019 that the United States Department of Education has recently approved Georgia’s application for the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority. 

The state has been approved to implement two models of innovative assessment- the Georgia MAP Partnership and the Putnam County Consortium. Georgia applied for the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority in December of 2018.

“This waiver to utilize pilot projects allows Georgia to pursue greater flexibility in the classroom, reduce high-stakes testing, and focus on a more student-centric approach to learning,” said Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. “I applaud the efforts of federal, state, and local educational leaders who worked together to develop this innovative idea for the benefit of Georgia families, students, and teachers.”

“I am excited that Georgia is taking the lead on finding alternative ways to test our students other than the end of the year Milestones model,” Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan said. “The granting of this waiver will start us on a path to more student- and teacher-centered testing.”

“I am proud that Georgia continues to be a national leader in pursuing flexibility for our schools and students,” said State School Superintendent Richard Woods. “A maximum of seven states will be selected to participate in this demonstration authority, so Georgia is in a distinguished group. For the benefit of our students, we must all continue to rethink assessment in the state of Georgia. I will keep pursuing a change in state law to get state testing requirements in line with the federal minimum, along with a more realistic use of test scores for accountability purposes.”

Georgia was granted flexibility through the IADA to pilot the approved programs– Georgia MAP and the Putnam consortium’s Navvy– through the 2023-24 school year. The state will then determine if the programs should be administered statewide.