The Georgia Department of Education released the 2018 College and Career Ready Performance Index scores.

As part of Georgia’s state plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act  – the replacement for No Child Left Behind – the state was able to make improvements to the CCRPI calculation. The 2018 CCRPI is the first to use the new calculation – meaning comparisons between the 2018 CCRPI and any other year are not possible or valid.

The overall state score on the 2018 CCRPI was 76.6, with scores of 77.8 for elementary schools, 76.2 for middle schools, and 75.3 for high schools.

About the Redesigned CCRPI

Working with a committee of educators and other stakeholders during the ESSA state plan development process, GaDOE was able to make significant improvements to the CCRPI. Highlights include:

• The CCRPI has been streamlined and simplified. The number of indicators has been cut roughly in half, and the remaining indicators are organized within five overall components: Content Mastery, Progress, Closing Gaps, Readiness, and (for high schools only) Graduation Rate.

• A new Closing Gaps component rewards schools making significant progress with traditionally underserved subgroups (English Learners, Economically Disadvantaged, and Students With Disabilities) and sets an expectation of improvement or maintenance of high achievement for all subgroups.

• A new Beyond the Core indicator at the elementary and middle school levels incentivizes student participation in enrichment courses beyond the traditional academic core (like fine arts, world language, physical education/health, and career education).

• A fully redesigned website makes it easier for parents and other stakeholders to access their schools’ scores and dig into the underlying data.

Under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) – the replacement for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) passed in 2015 – states are required to have a “statewide accountability system” that provides information on how well schools are performing. Similar accountability systems were required under the No Child Left Behind waivers many states operated under before ESSA was passed, but ESSA gives states more authority over the process.

After ESSA was signed into law, the Georgia Department of Education spent two years gathering input from the public and working with a committee of educators and other stakeholders to redesign the CCRPI. Parents, educators, members of the business community, and others said they wanted a CCRPI that reflected the opportunities schools offered students – from fine arts to career education – rather than a focus strictly on standardized test scores.

Refinements were made to the CCRPI based on this feedback, resulting in the updated calculation used to produce the 2018 scores.

What will the CCRPI look like moving forward?

While significant improvements were made to the CCRPI under ESSA, state law still requires a 100-point scale. State School Superintendent Richard Woods has expressed his intent to work with the state legislature to remove that requirement, and with other state leaders to reduce the weight of test scores in the CCRPI.

“We came together with Georgians to make improvements to the CCRPI, and I’m proud of that work,” Superintendent Woods said. “We were able to preserve indicators that reflect the opportunities schools offer to their students, from advanced coursework to career education to fine arts and physical education. But we can’t stop there. I believe strongly that the current 100-point scale vastly oversimplifies the complicated factors that influence school quality. The public – students, parents, and communities – deserve a wider and deeper measurement of performance that reflects our true mission: preparing students for life, not a test.”

Click here to read an op-ed from Superintendent Woods with more information.

School Climate Star Rating

As part of the CCRPI reports, the Georgia Department of Education released the 2018 School Climate Star Ratings for local schools. This rating is provided as an informational tool for schools, parents, and communities. While it is reported alongside the CCRPI, it is not included in the calculation that produces school and district CCRPI scores.

School climate refers to the quality and character of school life – the “culture” of a school. A sustainable, positive school climate fosters youth development and student learning, which are essential elements for academic success, career-skill improvement, and overall quality of life.

The School Climate Star Rating assesses the climate of a school – each school in Georgia receives a one- to five-star rating, with five stars representing an excellent school climate and one star representing a school climate most in need of improvement.

The Financial Efficiency Star Rating provides a measure of a district’s per-pupil spending in relation to the academic achievements of its students and, like the School Climate Star Rating, is reported alongside the CCRPI but not included in the calculation that produces the CCRPI score. 2018 Financial Efficiency Star Ratings are not yet available and will be added to the CCRPI reporting tool in early 2019.

Student Growth Model

GaDOE also released Student Growth Model data for 2017-18. This is a metric designed to help educators, parents, and other stakeholders better understand and analyze the progress students make year to year. It provides an in-depth look at student growth by school and school district, providing answers to questions such as, “Did students in this school grow more or less than academically similar students across the state?” or “Are students growing as much in math as in English Language Arts?”