Georgia released its 2025-26 Milestones results this week. Scores rose or held steady on six of seven math tests, and the Georgia Department of Education says fourth, fifth and sixth grade math and high school Algebra all hit all-time highs for the test's lifetime.
However, eighth grade math slipped from 47% to 46% proficient or above. Educators watch that number because eighth grade math is the standard signal of whether students are ready for high school work, and fewer than half of Georgia's eighth graders are clearing the bar. Another 33% landed in the developing range, meaning partial mastery, which brings the share showing at least partial proficiency to 79%.
Elsewhere the direction is up. Third and seventh grade each added 4 points of proficiency over last year. Science and social studies rose or held steady on every assessment. The state changed its math standards in 2023-24 and rebuilt the test around them, and scores have climbed in most grades since.
The gains sit on a low base, though. Just 47% of high schoolers scored proficient or above in biology, and 40% of eighth graders did in social studies. The outlier was physical science, where 61% scored proficient, but only the 30% of eighth graders who chose to take it. State School Superintendent Richard Woods credited classrooms while conceding the distance left. "With that said, we know there's still work to do, and we will not rest until the foundation is laid for every child to improve reading and mathematical skills," he said in the release.
Reading the levels, and finding your school
Milestones isn't pass-fail. Students land in one of four tiers: beginning learner, developing learner, proficient learner and distinguished learner. Proficient is the state's benchmark. Developing means partial mastery, and the state says those students can still be promoted. When a district brags about scores, check which tiers it's combining, a trick worth knowing from our guide to reading your child's state test scores.
Statewide averages hide everything a parent actually wants to know, since the gap between schools inside one district can dwarf the year-to-year change in the state number. Every Georgia public school's test results are searchable on our Georgia score rankings, and we've ranked the state's top high schools from the same data.
English and reading scores arrive in the fall. Last year was the first Milestones English exam built on Georgia's new language arts standards, and first-year exams take longer to score because the state sets scoring benchmarks fresh.
Sources
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia 8th graders' math scores dip
Georgia Department of Education: Georgia Milestones dashboard
