The Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) are a set of tests administered at public schools in the state of Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 that are designed to test the knowledge of first through eighth graders in reading, English/language arts (ELA), and mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, and third through eighth graders additionally in science and social studies. However, due to budget cuts, former Governor Sonny Perdue approved to cancel the first and second grade CRCT's for the 2010-2011 school year.

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 Georgia Performance Standards (GPS), which is the curriculum that Georgia teachers are required to teach.

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.

Currently, students in grades 3, 5, and 8 are required to pass the CRCT to be promoted to the next grade. Bill HB501, a new bill currently circulating in the Georgia General Assembly

Georgia General Assembly

The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....

, would also require first and second grade students to pass the CRCT to move to the next grade.

The state also includes Lexile

Lexile

The Lexile Framework for Reading is an educational tool that uses a measure called a Lexile to match readers of all ages with books, articles and other leveled reading resources....

measures with scores for students in grades 3-8. A Lexile measure can be used to match readers with targeted text and monitor growth in reading ability.

Scoring

Students receive a report during the summer that tells them their scale score and their accuracy for all of the sections assessed on the CRCT. The scale score is used to determine if the student exceeds, meets, or does not meet state standards. If the student scores above an 850, he/she is considered to be exceeding the standards in that subject area. If the student's scale score is between 800-849 (inclusive), he/she is considered to be meeting the standards in that subject area. The state considers scores below 800 as not meeting standards. Students can also determine their accuracy on any part of the test because their score reports show the amount of questions they got right and the amount of total questions that were administered.

Controversy

In July 2011, an investigation uncovered that 178 teachers from the Atlanta area had been found to be cheating from as early as 2001 by falsifying test results. Aside from the teachers, 38 principals were linked to the scandal either by directly participating in the changing of wrong answers or allowing the changes to be made when they knew, or had the responsibility to know, what was going on.