ATLANTA –The Georgia Department of Education’s Milestones test results for the last school year released Friday show improvement over the previous year’s results but are still mostly below pre-pandemic levels.
The Milestones standardized tests assess student performance in core academic subjects. The results are used at the student, school, school district, and state levels to assess how Georgia students are learning.
Student scores improved on 17 of the 21 assessments, compared to the previous year.
“The state, districts, and local schools have been laser-focused on addressing the impact of lost learning activities,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said.
The Department of Education has hired academic recovery specialists and is using summer learning and after-school programs to provide additional learning hours to students.
“These results show those efforts are paying off and students’ academic achievement has returned to the upward trajectory it was on prior to COVID,” Woods said.
Despite the improvement over the previous school year’s scores, this year’s results show that a significant number of Georgia children are reading below grade level.
In the third grade, 36% of students are reading below grade level. Back in 2019 before the pandemic, 27% of students were reading below grade level.
Among sixth graders – who would have been in the fourth grade when the pandemic began – 45% are reading below grade level. Back in 2019, 39% were reading below grade level.
In the eighth grade, 30% of students are reading below grade level, with 70% at or above grade level. Those eighth graders would have been in the sixth grade when the pandemic started.
In terms of high school, only one Milestones test – the American Literature exam – measures reading. Thirty-one percent of students who took the class are reading below grade level, and 69% are at or above grade level.
The tests also cover math as well as science and social studies in some grades.
Only 36% of the eighth-grade students were deemed “proficient and above” in math, meaning they could move on to the next math class without additional support.
And for Algebra I, which most but not all Georgia high school students take, only 37% of students are proficient and above.
“We’re going to be using these scores to determine where to push in supports and continue addressing learning loss,” said Allison Timberlake, the DOE’s deputy superintendent for assessment and accountability.
Timberlake said the 2021-2022 scores will be used to set a new baseline for future performance assessments.
The state will update its list of schools whose results indicate they need extra assistance for the first time since before the pandemic, she said.
Timberlake said milestones testing has faced several challenges over the past few years due to the pandemic. This year’s participation rates rose to close to pre-pandemic levels, she said.
Timberlake said caution should be used when making comparison between last year’s results and this year’s results – especially at the school and school district levels – because of the ways in which the last school year continued to be disrupted by the pandemic.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – The Federal Highway Administration has designated two Georgia highways as “alternative fuel corridors” for the purpose of facilitating the construction of electric vehicle charging stations.
U.S. 441 from Cornelia in Northeast Georgia south to Dublin and U.S. 82 from Brunswick west to Albany will add 25%, or approximately 330 miles, to the state’s EV charging network.
“Convenient access to electric vehicle charging stations is critical to innovating and expanding Georgia’s transportation network,” state Commissioner of Transportation Russell McMurry said Thursday.
“These federal designations are important because they signify Georgia’s commitment to alternative fuel options in every part of the state.”
The two highways were selected based on such factors as their location near major job clusters, access to tourism sites, the high share of EV sales in nearby counties, and their proximity to hurricane evacuation routes.
The designations also are expected to enhance Georgia’s chances of landing federal funds from the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure spending bill Congress passed last fall. The legislation earmarked $5 billion in grants to support EV charging stations.
The Georgia Department of Transportation announced last week that it is working with Chicago-based commercial real estate company JLL to plan a network of EV charging stations around the state.
About 30,000 electric vehicles are on Georgia roads today being serviced by more than 1,300 publicly available charging stations with an estimated 3,400 individual outlets.
A legislative study committee created by the General Assembly during this year’s session is expected to begin working soon toward developing a plan for expanding the supply of EV charging stations.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
The Georgia Public Service Commission voted Thursday to delay deciding whether to expand Georgia Power’s rooftop solar program.
ATLANTA – Georgia energy regulators voted Thursday to require Georgia Power to take a more aggressive approach toward developing renewable energy on several fronts.
However, the state Public Service Commission (PSC) also rejected at least for now a proposed expansion of Georgia Power’s rooftop solar program. The unanimous vote also will allow the Atlanta-based utility to continue operating two coal-burning units at Plant Bowen near Cartersville.
At issue was the latest update of Georgia Power’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which the utility submits to the PSC every three years outlining the mix of energy sources it plans to rely on for power generation during the next 20 years.
The commission vote approved an agreement Georgia Power reached last month with the PSC’s Public Interest Advocacy Staff, modified by a series of amendments commissioners brought during Thursday’s meeting.
Two of the amendments will require Georgia Power to develop additional renewable energy from battery storage and biomass.
The original version of the IRP the company submitted in January called for adding 1,000 megawatts through battery storage. However, last month’s agreement did away with the proposal after Georgia Power officials expressed concerns over whether the project’s benefits would justify the cost.
Thursday’s amendment, proposed by Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, settled on an additional 500 megawatts from battery storage.
Commissioner Jason Shaw proposed an amendment requiring Georgia Power to issue a request for proposals (RFP) no later than the first quarter of next year to develop up to 140 megawatts of renewable electricity from biomass. Shaw, who represents South Georgia on the commission, said the move would benefit the region’s timber industry.
Commissioners considered but ultimately rejected a second motion by McDonald that would have required Georgia Power to pay for a demonstration project testing “tall wind” technology rather than pass on the cost to customers.
“I applaud looking at new technology if the company wants to take it out of retained earnings,” McDonald said. “I don’t want to be a part of putting any more mandates on the rates.”
However, the commission’s majority voted instead to eliminate the tall wind project from the IRP after Commissioner Tim Echols pointed out an earlier wind project the PSC approved nine years ago has yet to move forward.
“Those [wind] turbines are still sitting in a warehouse in South Georgia,” he said. “I’m very skeptical about this project as well.”
The PSC also amended the IRP to move toward developing additional power through “distributed generation” by forming a working group of commission and solar industry representatives to put together an RFP.
But commissioners balked at a motion by Echols to significantly expand Georgia Power’s popular rooftop solar program from a current cap of 5,000 customers to 75,000.
“This is still a tiny part of the Georgia Power base,” he said. “Continuing this will promote economic development and allow more customers to be part of this clean-energy economy.”
Instead, the PSC voted 3-2 to punt the rooftop solar issue until the commission takes up Georgia Power’s next rate case later this year. The utility is proposing to raise customer rates by nearly 12% during the next three years effective Jan. 1.
“In this IRP, we simply do not have the cost information necessary to set just and reasonable rates, terms and conditions for rooftop solar,” said Shaw, who made the motion to delay deciding the issue.
Finally, the PSC supported a motion by Commissioner Fitz Johnson to allow the two coal units at Plant Bowen to continue operating for now and reassess the issue when it takes up the next IRP in 2025. Last month’s agreement had left a decision on whether to retire the two units to the PSC as a policy matter.
Georgia Power noted in a news release that the IRP will move the company toward retiring all its coal-fired generating capacity except the two units at Plant Bowen by 2028.
“To facilitate this strategic fleet transition, the Georgia PSC also approved more than 2,000 MW (megawatts) of capacity from natural gas power purchasing agreements in the coming years,” the release stated.
“We are committed to building the future of energy for our state,” said Chris Womack, Georgia Power’s chairman, president, and CEO. “These investments in our electric grid and energy infrastructure will help ensure that every customer, whether at home or running a business, has the energy they need to thrive.”
The Sierra Club called Thursday’s vote a “step in the right direction” but criticized the IRP for failing to adequately address the climate crisis.
“We need urgency and resolve to stop adding to this problem we have created,” said Scott Presson, lead volunteer for the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club’s Clean Energy Committee. “Our families deserve a livable planet.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Georgia’s unemployment rate dipped below 3% last month for the first time ever, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.
The rate of joblessness fell to 2.9% in June, well below the national unemployment rate of 3.6%.
The Peach State also saw a new all-time high of employed Georgians last month at more than 5.3 million, up 10,420 from May. The number of unemployed fell 2,317 in June to 155,199, the lowest since March 2001.
“The unemployment rate is decreasing exactly the way it should be in a strong economy,” Georgia Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler said. “We are adding new job seekers and they are quickly finding employment.”
Job numbers hit a record high in several employment sectors, including trade and transportation, financial activities, professional and business services, education, and health services.
The sectors with the most over-the-year gains were administrative and support services and accommodation and food services.
Despite all the good news on the labor front, initial jobless claims in Georgia rose by 53% last month to 25,660. However, first-time unemployment claims were down 75% from June of last year.
More than 227,000 jobs are listed online at EmployGeorgia.com, resulting in a minimum of more than 300,000 unfilled positions. Industries with more than 10,000 job postings include health care, manufacturing, retail trade and accommodation and food services.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – SK Battery America is joining forces with the Georgia National Guard to give Peach State veterans a leg up on hiring at the electric vehicle manufacturer’s plant in Commerce.
The company’s CEO joined Gov. Brian Kemp and the leadership of the Guard, the Georgia Department of Veterans Service, and the state Department of Economic Development Wednesday in announcing SK Battery America’s new partnership with the Guard’s Work for Warriors program.
“Not only do we owe our service members and veterans a huge debt of gratitude for protecting our freedom, we also value their contributions as part of our workforce in keeping Georgia the top state for business,” Kemp said during a ceremony inside the Georgia Capitol.
“I applaud SK Battery America’s commitment to hiring these capable individuals and their families as part of the nearly 2,600 jobs they are creating in Northeast Georgia.”
SK Battery America has become a key contributor to growth in Jackson County. The county’s population has increased by about 3,500 residents to more than 80,000 just during the past year, according to U.S. Census figures released last month.
To launch the Work for Warriors effort at the plant, a military and veteran-focused hiring fair will be held this Saturday.
“Veterans and spouses are an incredibly valuable asset to SK Battery America as we continue to fill our production and administrative positions,” said Timothy Jeong, the company’s CEO. “It is exciting to have the support from Georgia’s elite forces as we manufacture cells to electrify America’s vehicles for a cleaner future.”
Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, said SK Battery America’s workforce at the Commerce plant has risen faster than originally expected to more than 1,500 workers.
Col. Patricia Ross, commissioner of the veterans service department, said young military veterans leaving the service for the private sector suffer an unemployment rate is double the general workforce.
“These are the folks we’re trying to attract and retain in Georgia, give them that next career, that next job with a tremendous company and allow them to stay and help fill Georgia’s skills gap,” she said. “That’s what SK will help us do.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation
