ATLANTA - Georgia schools are returning to the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills -- after two years of scoring problems with the Stanford Nine standardized test. <br>
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Several systems in the metro Atlanta area will begin giving the tests to students in September instead of during the spring in order to keep students from being slammed with tests at one time. <br>
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Currently, students take a battery of tests in the spring, including the Criterion Referenced Competency Test. That test is a state exam that can determine promotion in certain grades. <br>
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It's also the test by which schools and school systems will be evaluated and graded. <br>
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Most systems in the metro Atlanta area are still giving the tests this spring. Fayette and Fulton counties and the Marietta city schools will begin giving the tests today. <br>
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Several other systems -- including Atlanta city, Decatur city and Cobb, Coweta and Rockdale counties -- will begin the tests next Monday. <br>
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Those waiting until the fall include the counties of Cherokee, Clayton, Forsyth, Gwinnett and Henry. <br>
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The state Board of Education abandoned the Iowa Tests in 2000 in favor of the Stanford Nine, mainly because the Standford's publisher was least expensive.
