Content Advisory Committees were established to recommend to the PSC the content, wording, and specifications for the assessment program. A Bias Review Committee was formed to review testing materials for potential bias and advise the PSC on issues pertaining to their review. The members of these committees were Georgia educators selected through a nominating process that sought from colleagues, supervisors, and professional organizations the names of well-qualified public school educators and educator preparation faculty. Committees comprised individuals who reflected the racial, gender, ethnic, and regional diversity of Georgia.

Georgia standards documents and other Georgia-approved resources were used to develop draft test frameworks (sets of test objectives that define test content). The draft test framework for each test field was reviewed and revised by the Bias Review Committee and the appropriate field-specific Content Advisory Committee.

The approved test frameworks were prepared for validation through content validation surveys. Thousands of Georgia public school educators and educator preparation faculty participated in surveys to rate the importance of each objective in each test field for performing the job of an educator in Georgia. Results from the content validation survey were analyzed to ensure that all objectives measured by the assessments are important to the job of a Georgia educator.

Test questions matching the final test framework for each test field were drafted. Each draft test question was developed to correspond to an approved element of the test framework. This correspondence established the alignment of the test questions—through the test framework—with approved Georgia standards.

The Bias Review Committee focused its review on excluding from the test materials any language, content, or perspectives that might disadvantage an examinee because of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, disability, or cultural, economic, or geographic background. The Bias Review Committee also focused on including in the test materials content and perspectives that reflect the diversity of the Georgia population. The Content Advisory Committees met to review and revise the draft test questions primarily from a content perspective. Content Advisory Committees reviewed the questions for accuracy and freedom from bias, and they ensured that questions are matched to objectives, align with Georgia standards, and relate to the job of a Georgia public school educator. The committee-approved test questions were then finalized.

Test questions were field-tested at Georgia colleges and universities at field-test sessions and as part of class sessions. The field-test data showed how the questions performed with potential Georgia certification candidates. Questions that did not perform acceptably on the field tests were either identified for deletion or revised for re-examination by the Bias Review Committee and the Content Advisory Committees.

A preparation guide for each test field was prepared and published on the GACE Web site. See "Preparation Materials" to view the test designs and frameworks, sample questions, and other related test preparation materials for each GACE assessment.

Following the first administration of the tests, the Content Advisory Committees participated in a structured process to make judgments regarding a passing score for each test. Following the passing score meetings, passing score judgments were compiled and presented to the PSC, who set the passing score for each test field.