Georgia schools Superintendent John Barge says he expects to hear by the end of the month whether the state has received a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Barge spoke to state lawmakers during a budget hearing Tuesday.

Georgia was among the first 11 states to apply for relief from the highly criticized law, which is five years overdue for a rewrite. The state's plan includes using multiple tests to determine whether a school passes muster and gauging student performance in subjects other than just math and reading.

The state also wants to use a five-star system and colored flags to indicate whether a school is making gains.Georgia hopes to use the new accountability system this spring to calculate how schools are performing.

Tags: No Child Left Behind, schools, testing, John Barge, NCLB