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 English Language Arts Program


​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​English Language Arts Georgia Standards of Excellence ​

The Georgia Standards of Excellence require that students gain, evaluate, and present incr​​easingly complex information, ideas and evidence through listening and speaking as well as through media. The standards recognize that students must be able to use formal Eng​lish in their writing and speaking but that they must also be able to make informed, skillful choices among the many ways to express themselves through language. It is important to note t​he impact of the standards on classroom instruction: building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction; reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from the text, both literary and informational; and regular practice with complex​ text and its academic language.​  The GSE will remain the standards for instruction through the 2024-2025 school year, and the newly adopted K-12 Georgia Standards of English Language Arts will be fully implemented during the 2025-2026 school year. 

Newly Adopted K-12 Georgia Standards of English Language Arts​​​

The State Board of Education approved State School Superintendent Richard Woods’ recommendation to adopt the new K-12 English Language Arts (ELA) Standards at the May 2023 SBOE meeting. The 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years will be dedicated to teacher training on the new standards, with implementation to follow in future years.

Drafted by Georgia ELA teachers with input from educational leaders, parents, students, business and industry leaders, and community members, the standards are designed to be clear, understandable, and prepare students to meet future challenges and become world-class learners. The standards feature built-in learning progressions across grade spans and within grade-level concepts, allowing teachers to remediate or accelerate learning as needed.

The standards were first posted for public comment in November 2022 and, based on the comments received, teacher committees were reconvened to make updates in response to public feedback. Specifically, GaDOE responded to public feedback by streamlining and strengthening K-12 learning progressions; cleaning up and standardizing formatting; emphasizing grammar, usage, and mechanics; and providing additional teacher clarity. The standards were posted for a second 30-day public comment period in March 2023.

Throughout the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years, teachers will receive training and professional learning, new resources will be developed, assessments will be aligned to the updated standards, and communication will be provided to parents to ensure a smooth transition.

The most recent adopted standards documents can be found via the May 2023 SBOE agenda. Scroll to the bottom of the agenda (D.1) and click to find standards and supporting documents.  

  • Getting Ready Guides
  • Check out our new “Getting Ready for Middle School ELA Guide" for students and families!​
  • 8th Grade Argumentative & Narrative Writing Units
  • 4th Grade Narrative Writing Units
  • 1st Grade Opinion & Narrative Writing Units
  • Rules and Guidance

    Official List of State Funded Courses for 2022-2023 

    Graduation Rule

    Instructional Resources

    Family Engagement Resources

     Contact Information

    Breanne Huston, Ph.D. 
    ELA/Literacy Program Manager
    Phone: (470) 510-7488

    Kellee Iverson, Ed.S.
    Content Integration Specialist
    ELA​
    Phone: (404) 565-2800

    Andina Oglesby, Ed.S.
    Elementary ELA/Literacy Program Specialist​
    Phone: (​404) 565-2800​

    Asha Jassani, M.Ed.
    English Learner Program Specialist
    Phone: (470) 426-7147

    Sarah Welch, Ed.S.
    Secondary ELA/Literacy Program Specialist
    Phone; (470) 607-0443

    General ELA Inquiries   
    Email: ela@do​e.k12​.ga.us​

    Georgia Standards​​​