Image courtesy Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation

Georgia’s Department of Education recently issued a newer, easier to follow system to measure the performance of schools and school districts. It's called the College Career Ready Performance Index. It grades schools on a 0-100 point scale and replaces the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) measurement. It’s tempting to look at a school that has scored a 52 and suffer a heart attack - especially if that school is where your child attends. The good news about the scoring system is that it is based on specific indicators rather than just test scores. Based on that data, schools parents and students have a clearer understanding of what needs to be improved. You’ll find the criteria for how schools are measured in this post How Does Your School Score?. Here is the full list of how schools and districts performed.

A Sample of How Some Schools Scored

What were some of the districts with the highest scores?

  • Banks County: 90.8 for elementary school; 93.2 for middle school
  • Bremen City: 96.4 for elementary school; 93.5 middle school ; 90.1 high school
  • Cherokee County: 88.9 elementary school; 91.7 middle school; 83.7 high school
  • Decatur City Schools: 93.7 elementary school; 93.2 middle school; 88.9 high school
  • Gwinnett County: 93.5 elementary school; 94.3 middle school
  • Oconee County: 93.4 elementary school; 93.5 middle school; 92 high school

What were some of the districts with the lowest scores?

  • Atlanta Public Schools: 68.4 elementary school; 67.9 middle school; 60.3 high school (Given the district’s problems with the cheating scandal and feuding board members these numbers are not a surprise. )
  • Bibb County: 68.2 elementary school; 65.7 middle school; 55.1 high school (This is also not a surprise since the district leaders experienced problems in leadership.)
  • DeKalb County: 71.2 elementary school; 73.5 middle school; 66.4 high school (Another district plagued by leadership squabbles that may have affected school performance. )
  • Meriwether County: 68.5 elementary school; 73.3 middle school; 67.7 high school
  • Sumter County: 54.8 elementary school; 72.9 middle school; 62.4 high school
  • Wilkinson County: 72.6 elementary school; 76.8 middle school; 61.5 high school

    • Again don’t fret over the numbers. Some of these schools are receiving additional challenge points when economically disadvantaged students, English Learner students and Students with disabilities meeting expectations. Also the Georgia DOE notes that “Beginning in 2013-2014, schools will also receive ratings based on their financial efficiency and school climate, but these ratings will be for the public’s information only and will not factor into the school’s overall CCRPI score."