Priscilla Brown's daughter, an honor roll student, earned an A in her math class, yet she failed the state's math test.

The Morgan Road Middle School parent isn't alone. As criticism from Georgia's new curriculum continues to mount, Ms. Brown and other parents say they are angry with state education leaders.

Rather than enjoying time off this summer and going with friends to Tennessee, her daughter will be staying closer to home and studying, Ms. Brown said.

"This has happened all across the state," said Carol Rountree, Richmond County's director of guidance, testing and research. "I get those phone calls all day long."

The testing controversy comes after Georgia implemented a new, more rigorous curriculum this year. Only 60 percent of eighth-graders statewide passed the math portion of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests, according to preliminary results. Locally, the preliminary passing rates were:

- Richmond County: 45 percent

- Columbia County: 73 percent

- Burke County: 53 percent

- McDuffie County: 75 percent

Why is it important?

Pupils must pass the math test to be automatically promoted to ninth grade. A retest will be held in June, but those who fail a second time must appeal the decision or be held back.

Even worse were the results of statewide social studies tests given to sixth- and seventh-graders. Results were so dismal -- only 20 percent to 30 percent passed -- that those test results have been thrown out.

The back story

In the 2005-06 school year, the Department of Education began phasing in the Georgia Performance Standards to replace the Quality Core Curriculum. The shift was meant to be a move from memorization to understanding.

The new curriculum covers fewer topics, but in greater depth. A criticism of the previous curriculum was that it covered too many topics and only in a shallow way.

For the first time, the state's eighth-graders this year learned algebra and geometry, concepts previously taught in high school, Richmond County math coordinator Shelly Allen said. She emphasized this new test doesn't resemble the old one. The school system was already moving toward all eighth-graders taking algebra.

"These kids aren't any less smart or intelligent by any means," Mrs. Allen said, adding they are actually smarter for being exposed to the more rigorous materials.

Georgia pupils traditionally scored better on state math tests than math tests given nationally, she said. In theory, greater rigor is good, but the implementation caused problems because the curriculum wasn't phased in.

"The curriculum is supposed to be like a ladder, but the kids who are in the eighth grade now started in the middle of the ladder," Mrs. Allen said. "What I'm surprised by is that the state is going to stand by the promotion policy in a year when it's not the students' fault."

The solutions

Pupils who failed a required portion of the CRCT still have chances to advance to the next grade. School systems are preparing for summer school and at least two retests.

Richmond County began administering benchmark assessments this school year, so teachers can pinpoint where each pupil stumbled on the test. Parents should ask teachers about that to help focus on their child's weak areas, Mrs. Allen said.

Dr. Rountree said summer school sessions will have much smaller class sizes and pupils will be grouped into common weaknesses so they can focus on learning the needed material. Last year, 809 Richmond County eighth-graders failed either the reading or math portion of the CRCT, both of which are required for automatic promotion. This year, 1,340 students failed.

Pupils can retake the CRCT at the end of summer school, but aren't required to attend the summer sessions to take the test. Pupils, however, must take the retest to be eligible for an appeal. With approval of a parent, teacher and principal, a pupil can be promoted without passing the CRCT.

In Columbia County, Deputy Superintendent Sandra Carraway said pupils who fail the math test a second time this summer can ask for a placement review in which a committee will decide whether a pupil can be promoted based on CRCT and yearly performances.

The committee would include the child's parent, teacher, a school administrator and a school system administrator. Dr. Carraway said reviews would take place the week before school starts in August.

Morris News Service Staff Writer Lynn Davidson contributed to this story.