Georgia Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox released statewide scores for the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests Monday, calling it the beginning of a new era for Georgia's public schools.

This year, more than half of the CRCTs are aligned to Georgia's new, more rigorous curriculum - the Georgia Performance Standards. In most cases, students also had to score higher on those tests in order to pass.

The Superintendent said expectations are being raised to make sure that Georgia students are ready to compete in a 21st century global economy.

"We could not wait any longer," Cox said. "The world is going to have high expectations for our students in the 21st century, so we must be sure we have high expectations for them."

Governor Sonny Perdue said Georgia must have world-class expectations for all of its students.

"Georgia students must be second to-none in competition with students across the world," Perdue said. "To do that, we must have a realistic and challenging measuring stick. We cannot accept low expectations for Georgia students."

The state has raised expectations for Georgia's students in three main ways:

A new curriculum that is more rigorous and puts the focus on mastering the material.

New tests that require students to demonstrate higher thinking skills and deeper knowledge of the subject.

Setting the bar higher by requiring students to answer more questions correctly to pass the test.

There are 19 CRCTs that are aligned to the Georgia Performance Standards: the reading tests in grades 1-8; the English/language arts exams in grades 1-8; science exams in grades 6 and 7 and the math exam in grade 6.

To see statewide scores, go to http://public.doe.k12.ga.us and follow the links.