Georgia Milestones

Achievement Level Descriptors

WiththeimplementationoftheGeorgiaMilestonesAssessmentSystem,Georgiaeducatorshavedeveloped
fourachievementlevelstodescribestudentmasteryandcommandoftheknowledgeandskillsoutlinedin
Georgiascontentstandards.Moststudentshaveatleastsomeknowledgeofthecontentdescribedinthe
contentstandards;however,achievementlevelssuccinctlydescribehowmuchmasteryastudenthas.
Achievementlevelsgivemeaningandcontexttoscalescoresbydescribingtheknowledgeandskills
studentsmustdemonstratetoachieveeachlevel.
ThefourachievementlevelsonGeorgiaMilestonesareBeginningLearner,DevelopingLearner,
ProficientLearner,andDistinguishedLearner.Thegeneralmeaningofeachofthefourlevelsisprovided
below:
BeginningLearnersdonotyetdemonstrateproficiencyintheknowledgeandskillsnecessaryatthis
gradelevel/courseoflearning,asspecifiedinGeorgiascontentstandards.Thestudentsneedsubstantial
academicsupporttobepreparedforthenextgradelevelorcourseandtobeontrackforcollegeandcareer
readiness.
DevelopingLearnersdemonstratepartialproficiencyintheknowledgeandskillsnecessaryatthisgrade
level/courseoflearning,asspecifiedinGeorgiascontentstandards.Thestudentsneedadditional
academicsupporttoensuresuccessinthenextgradelevelorcourseandtobeontrackforcollegeand
careerreadiness.
ProficientLearnersdemonstrateproficiencyintheknowledgeandskillsnecessaryatthisgrade
level/courseoflearning,asspecifiedinGeorgiascontentstandards.Thestudentsarepreparedforthenext
gradelevelorcourseandareontrackforcollegeandcareerreadiness.
DistinguishedLearnersdemonstrateadvancedproficiencyintheknowledgeandskillsnecessaryatthis
gradelevel/courseoflearning,asspecifiedinGeorgiascontentstandards.Thestudentsarewell
preparedforthenextgradelevelorcourseandarewellpreparedforcollegeandcareerreadiness.
Moredetailedandcontentspecificconceptsandskillsareprovidedforeachgrade,contentarea,andcourse
intheAchievementLevelDescriptors(ALDs).ALDsarenarrativedescriptionsoftheknowledgeand
skillsexpectedateachofthefourachievementlevelsandweredevelopedforeachgradelevel,content

area,andcoursebycommitteesofGeorgiaeducatorsinMarch2015andJuly2015.TheALDsarebased
onthestateadoptedcontentstandards.
ALDsshowaprogressionofknowledgeandskillsforwhichstudentsmustdemonstratecompetency
acrosstheachievementlevels.Itisimportanttounderstandthatastudentshoulddemonstratemasteryof
theknowledgeandskillswithinhis/herachievementlevelaswellasallcontentandskillsinany
achievementlevelsthatprecedehis/herown,ifany.Forexample,aProficientLearnershouldalsopossess
theknowledgeandskillsofaDevelopingLearnerandaBeginningLearner.
GeorgiaMilestonesEndofGrade(EOG)AchievementLevelDescriptors
GeorgiaMilestonesEOGALD:EnglishLanguageArts
Grade3|Grade4|Grade5|Grade6|Grade7|Grade8
GeorgiaMilestonesEOGALD:Mathematics
Grade3|Grade4|Grade5|Grade6|Grade7|Grade8

GeorgiaMilestonesEOGALD:Science
Grade3|Grade4|Grade5|Grade6|Grade7|Grade8

GeorgiaMilestonesEOGALD:SocialStudies
Grade3|Grade4

|Grade5|Grade6

|Grade7|Grade8
GeorgiaMilestonesEndofCourse(EOC)AchievementLevelDescriptors
GeorgiaMilestonesNinthGradeLiteratureandCompositionEOCALD
GeorgiaMilestonesAmericanLiteratureandCompositionEOCALD
GeorgiaMilestonesCoordinateAlgebraEOCALD
GeorgiaMilestonesAnalyticGeometryEOCALD
GeorgiaMilestonesBiologyEOCALD
GeorgiaMilestonesPhysicalScienceEOCALD
GeorgiaMilestonesUnitedStatesHistoryEOCALD
GeorgiaMilestonesEconomics/Business/FreeEnterpriseEOCALD