We've all heard about how Georgia students performed miserably on the CRCT, but apparently.. the State knew it was coming, but did little about it.

The state Department of Education knew as early as July 2007 that tens of thousands of sixth- and seventh-graders were on track to bomb on this year's mandatory social studies test, documents obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution show.

But officials allowed the testing to go forward, apparently without warning schools, teachers, parents or students of the likelihood of widespread failures.

Teachers have complained repeatedly about inadequate training as the curriculum has been revamped, said Callahan — whose group's 72,000 members are mostly teachers.

In recent weeks, as dismal scores trickled in, teachers called the state in alarm, Callahan said. "The initial response was kind of flippant and cold," he said. "They were like, 'Well, you didn't do your job.' "