ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia public school students will now face less standardized testing thanks to a new law signed by Governor Nathan Deal.
Deal signed a bill into law on Tuesday that will lower the number of standardized tests taken by Georgia students, which saw wide support from statewide education groups. The new law will also lower the percentage that a student's performance is factored into the evaluation.
Supporters of the new testing guidelines say it will free up time for teachers to focus on the curriculum rather than getting students prepared to take tests that many view as inaccurate.
Education group StudentsFirst has been critical of the proposed changes to teacher evaluations, saying more weight will now be distributed to subjective criteria in the evaluation process.
The new law goes into effect July 1.
