How Floyd County Schools did in the state's new College and Career Ready Performance Index

Media release: The Georgia Department of Education today released the new College and Career Ready Performance Index that included numerical scores that seek to communicate to the public how a school is performing. Each school in the state received a score out of 100 points, just like scores students earn in their classes.

The new index replaces the old Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) report that just listed schools as passing or failing.  Georgia was one of 10 states granted a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind Act and allowed to create a new more comprehensive accountability system for schools.

System scores are provided in three categories: elementary, middle and high school.  Floyd County Schools received a score of 82.7 in the elementary category.  That ranked 75th out of 192 school systems and charter schools in the state.  The middle school score was 77.9 and ranked 118th out of 195.  High schools in the system ranked highest among the categories when compared to other school systems and charter schools in the state.  Floyd County high schools averaged a score of 77.8.  The score ranked 51st for high schools out of 185 school systems or charter schools.

The highest scoring schools in the new report were both primary schools.  Glenwood Primary topped the list with a score of 90.4 and McHenry Primary was close behind with a score of 90.  The highest scoring middle school was Model Middle at 80.8.  Armuchee Middle was just behind with a score of 79.6. Armuchee High was the high school with the top score at 83.4.

"It is good to see our state leading the nation toward a more in-depth measurement of school performance," said Dr. Jeff McDaniel, superintendent of Floyd County Schools. "Our focus as a school system is to produce graduates prepared to succeed in the next step in life and we welcome measures that can help us achieve our goal."  McDaniel added, "Impacting the quality of graduates in our school system begins in the primary grades and involves every step along the way to the those final steps taken to cross the stage and receive a high school diploma."        

The major portion of a school and district's overall score in the new index is made up of three areas: Achievement (70% of the total CCRPI score), Progress (15% of the total CCRPI score) and Achievement Gap (15% of the total CCRPI score).  In addition to the three major areas, schools can receive "Challenge Points" to add to their score. Schools can receive up to 10 extra Challenge Points if they have a significant number of Economically Disadvantaged students, English Learner students and Students with Disabilities meeting expectations. Some of the additional 10 points may also be earned by going beyond the targets of the CCRPI and challenging students to exceed expectations and participate in college and career ready programs.

Achievement

The Achievement score will be made up of three indicators: Content Mastery (40%), Post High School/Middle School/Elementary School Readiness (30%) and Graduation Rate/Graduation Rate Predictor (30%).

·      Content Mastery: This section looks at student achievement on standardized tests (CRCT in grades 3-8 and End of Course Tests in grades 9-12) to determine how well a school is doing with instruction.

·     Post High School/Middle School/Elementary School Readiness: This section looks at areas that have proven to help students be prepared for the next level of school. As an example, the Post High School Readiness measure looks at indicators such as the percentage of students enrolled in and meeting standards in a World Language class, or the percentage of students receiving an Industry Certification or exceeding standards on an End of Course Test.

·     Graduation Rate/Graduation Rate Predictor: This section will look at a school's 4-year and 5-year graduation rate using the new Cohort Method calculation.

Progress

The Progress score will be calculated based on the percentage of a school's students demonstrating typical or high growth via their Student Growth Percentiles (SGP). An SGP describes a student's growth on state tests relative to other students statewide with similar prior achievement. A student's growth percentile can range from 1 to 99, and every student's SGPs may earn points towards the Progress Score.

Achievement Gap

The Achievement Gap score assigns points to schools for their progress in closing or having small achievement gaps on state tests between schools' lowest 25% of achievers and the state average. The gap size is calculated by finding the difference in standardized average scores on state tests between the school's lowest 25% of achievers and the state. The gap change compares the gap size for the prior year to the current year. The school receives points for the gap size or the gap change, according to which point total is higher.