The purpose of the Georgia Student Assessment Program is to measure student achievement of the state-adopted academic content standards and to use assessment results to improve teaching and learning. Results from the assessment program are utilized to identify the extent to which students have mastered the state's academic content standards, to provide teachers with feedback about instructional practice, and to assist school districts in identifying strengths and weaknesses to establish priorities in planning educational programs.
The Georgia Student Assessment Program includes a set of both formative and summative assessments that work together to provide insights to improve teaching and learning. Different stakeholders need different data – the right data – to meet their needs. For example, classroom teachers need detailed, real-time data to inform their work with students while leaders and policymakers need aggregated, high-level data to inform decisions about policy and instructional programs. This balanced approach to assessment provides data for a variety of stakeholders to inform decisions, whether at a policy, district, school, or classroom level to support the improvement of Georgia's education system.
Georgia's balanced approach to assessment maintains a purposeful amount of accountability and insights on how Georgia's students are doing while also focusing time and resources on improving student learning at the classroom level during the school year.
