Georgia to phase out high school graduation test

ATLANTA - Georgia education officials have approved a plan to phase out the Georgia High School Graduation Test.

The state Board of Education on Wednesday approved the plan, which means that students who enter high school in fall 2011 will no longer take the test in order to graduate.

Under the new plan, students must pass all required courses, and the end-of-course tests will count for 20 percent of a student's final grade, rather than the current 15 percent.

State School Superintendent John Barge said Georgia has been trying to eliminate the state graduation test for more than a decade. He said the end-of-course tests are better indicators of how much a student has learned.