Several Newton County School System employees are already looking ahead to the 2014-15 school year by preparing for an upcoming national test that students will be required to take in the coming years.

Held at the Griffin Regional Educational Service Agency (Griffin RESA), the NCSS employees took part in a special session to learn more about the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments, scheduled to begin during the 2014-15 school year.

Georgia is one of 24 states that are members of a consortium that will develop new common core assessments for the nation. Each consortium will have the ability to compare individual classrooms, school districts and state results with other members in the other 22 states, which are part of a consortium called SMARTER Balance. Most of the assessments will require the use of technology.

According to Superintendent Gary Mathews, this assessment is no different from the No Child left Behind assessments. And while PARCC will have less topics for grade, there is what Mathews called "a greater depth of consideration."

"Additionally, as we are finding out in NCSS, there has been a rather dramatic shifting of content downwards - what was once taught in a particular grade is now taught in a lower grade, at times more than one grade level down. Rigor in the common core is certainly evident - more difficult, not more stuff," Mathews said in his End-of-Month notes.