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81 Percent of Georgia's Schools Make AYP More than 81 percent of Georgia's public schools in 2006-2007 made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act. About 81.6 percent of Georgia's more than 2,000 schools made AYP this past school year. In 2005-2006, 79.3 percent of schools met AYP. Overall, there are 326 schools in Needs Improvement status, meaning these schools have missed AYP for at least two consecutive years and face sanctions. This is the first year that the number of schools in Needs Improvement status has gone up, something that Superintendent Cox said the state will be taking a closer look at in the coming weeks and months. ABOUT AYP and NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND In order to make Adequate Yearly Progress, a school must meet state-set goals in test participation, academic achievement and a "second indicator" statistic (graduation rate for high schools and, usually, attendance rate for elementary and middle schools). To meet the academic achievement goals, a school must have a certain percentage of students pass the state curriculum tests in math and reading/English language arts. All students and any qualifying subgroup of students, must meet those goals. Those percentages will continue to rise until 2014, when No Child Left Behind mandates a 100 percent proficiency rate for all schools. The U.S. Congress is in the process of reauthorizing No Child Left Behind. The superintendent and the State Board of Education have offered suggestions for improving the law. Superintendent Cox pointed out that more than half of the schools that did not make AYP in 2006-2007 missed it because of the performance of one subgroup in one subject. One suggestion for reauthorization is to consider different consequences for schools based on the degree to which they miss AYP. GRADUATION RATE Georgia's graduation rate, which serves as the second indicator for all high schools, increased slightly to 71.1 percent in 2006-2007. That number could rise more as summer graduates are added. "Our graduation rate is continuing to climb and is at its highest level," Superintendent Cox said. "But we will not be satisfied until our graduation rate is 100 percent." "As a state, we are focusing on raising our graduation rate like never before, and I know we will see this number go up dramatically in the coming years." The superintendent pointed to several programs that are underway and will help boost Georgia's graduation rate:
OTHER AYP HIGHLIGHTS The percentage of elementary schools making AYP reached an all-time high of 95.2 percent. This is up more than four points from 2005-2006. The percentage of secondary schools making AYP is still significantly lower. About 64.4 percent of middle schools and 54.9 percent of high schools made AYP in 2006-2007. There were 52 systems that had all of their schools make AYP. MORE INFORMATION - 2007 AYP Report (For help, download the "Guide to Using the AYP Report") - Statement on NCLB Reauthorization from Superintendent Cox and the State Board of Education CRCT Results Show New Curriculum is Working The results of the 2007 Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) show that Georgia’s new curriculum is making a difference. In the classes where the new Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) have been taught for two years, the percent passing the CRCT has gone up in practically every area. Among the highlights:
Superintendent Cox said the GPS covers fewer concepts each year than the old curriculum, but allows students time to master those concepts and then move on. “If you have high expectations for students and lay out those expectations clearly, then you need to give teachers the training and time they need to cover those concepts with students,” she said. “We are doing that, and these early results show that we are on the right path.” Implementation of the GPS began during the 2005-2006 school year in Reading and English (all grades), Science (grades 6, 7 and 9-12) and Mathematics (grade 6). This most recent school year, GPS implementation continued in Mathematics (grade K-2 and 7) and Science (grades 3-5). As the GPS is implemented, new tests are built around the more rigorous curriculum, and then new cut scores are set. OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
- PowerPoint (GPS comparison) STATE-LEVEL SCORES SYSTEM-LEVEL SCORES SCHOOL-LEVEL SCORES Georgia Gets Mediocre Marks for Teacher Policies in New Report Labeled "Weak But Progressing" The National Council on Teacher Quality 50-state encyclopedia on states’ teacher policies, concludes that while Georgia takes a leadership role in some areas, many policies are counterproductive to the nation’s teacher quality goals. The State Teacher Policy Yearbook is the first project of its kind to provide a 360-degree detailed analysis of how states are hurting or helping teacher quality—and what they can do to fix broken and anachronistic policies While Georgia did better than most states, its overall performance shows how much work is still ahead. In the six areas of teacher policy reviewed, Georgia earned mixed grades of one B, three C’s, one D, and one F. Among the findings:
Despite these findings, Georgia has some bright spots. Among its strengths, the state makes it relatively easy for teachers from other states to obtain a Georgia teaching license. The state is especially accommodating to individuals who want to change careers and enter teaching. Unlike many states, it requires all teachers to get evaluated every year. To download copies of the Georgia report, which includes national comparisons: ACT High School Profile Report The Graduating Class of 2007 - Georgia The ACT High School Profile Report for each state provides information about the performance of 2007 graduating seniors who took the ACT as sophomores, juniors, or seniors. The reports focus on performance, access, course selection, course rigor, college readiness, awareness, and articulation. To see the report: http://www.act.org/news/data/07/pdf/states/Georgia.pdf Georgia's ACT Scores at an All-Time High The ACT scores of Georgia's high school seniors improved again in 2007, with gains seen in all four areas of the test. Georgia's composite ACT score rose to 20.3 in 2007, up from 20.2 in 2006. This increase came as participation on the ACT rose nearly 18 percent from the previous year. About 34 percent of Georgia's 2007 graduating seniors took the ACT, an all-time high. The national average ACT composite score was 21.2, also up a tenth of a point. "It is encouraging to see Georgia's ACT scores continue to rise even as participation grows dramatically," said State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox. "I'm also very pleased to see that our African-American and Hispanic students continue to achieve at a higher level than their peers across the country." The ACT is a curriculum-based achievement test designed to measure college readiness and preparation. The ACT includes four separate exams in English, reading, mathematics and science. There is also an optional writing portion. The exam is scored on a scale from 0 to 36. A change of .05 in any score is considered statistically significant. INCREASES IN ALL AREAS For the second year in a row, Georgia's high school seniors improved on every part of the ACT. (See Chart 1) "Georgia's ACT improvement is being seen across the board, in every subject," Superintendent Cox said. "As our new curriculum, the Georgia Performance Standards, begins to take hold in high school, I am confident we will see continued increases in our scores." The improvement continued even as ACT participation increased dramatically for the fifth consecutive year. Since 2003, ACT participation has jumped by more than 56 percent. (See Chart 2) While participation continues to rise, the majority of Georgia's high school seniors still take the SAT. In 2006, about 70 percent of Georgia's high school seniors took the SAT. 2007 SAT data will be released on Aug. 28. AT OR ABOVE THE NATION Georgia's African-American and Hispanic students again outscored their peers across the country. For the first time this year, Georgia's Asian-American students did as well. "As with all test scores, the real story is told when you break down the numbers," Superintendent Cox said. "When you disaggregate the ACT data, you see that, on average, Georgia's students are scoring at or above the level of their peers nationwide." (See Chart 3) Superintendent Cox added that the data continues to show an achievement gap between groups of students. "We will continue to focus on reducing that gap by having high expectations for all students and giving them the tools and options they need to be successful."High Schoolers Learn Workplace Safety As part of an effort to increase job-safety training and awareness among younger Americans, scientists from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have joined with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other groups to introduce health and safety training to Georgia high schools. The aim: to try to ensure that young workers grasp job-safety basics before they ever reach the workplace. GTRI instructors and others have already taught OSHA job-safety classes to three Georgia high schools, and more schools are scheduled to receive instruction. The effort stems from a 2006 agreement between OSHA, GTRI, Georgia schools and other groups to make safety and health training more available to the state’s students. “Today, it’s an effort for many people in the workforce to remember safety basics – for example, to put their safety glasses on when working with chemicals,” said Michelle L. Dunham, a research scientist in the Occupational Safety and Health Division of GTRI’s Electronic Systems Laboratory (ELSYS). “We want to make it automatic for kids joining the workforce to take those kinds of precautions – the same way they always put on a seatbelt in a car because that’s what they’ve grown up doing.” Students attend a10-hour course that’s team-taught by OSHA and Georgia Tech instructors as well as industry representatives. The modular course covers general safety and health information as well as instruction pertaining to students’ areas of work specialization. “There are lots of different modules, and depending on the school, they’ll vary,” Dunham said. “We’ve started out teaching students going into the construction trades, but the course could be helpful to students in other study areas such as automotive and medical services.” To date, GTRI instructors and others have taught the 10-hour course at three Atlanta area high schools – Maxwell High School of Technology in Lawrenceville, McEachern High School in Powder Springs and Dekalb High School of Technology-North in Dunwoody. Well over 100 students have completed the classes. Those graduating receive the OSHA 10-hour card, which can give them an advantage with employers wanting to comply with OSHA regulations. The course is rigorous, Dunham notes. Missing even a single class means a student does not receive a 10-hour card. “We decided that this was an adult learning process,” she said. “Students had to learn that this was like being on a job.” Dunham, an industrial hygienist, explains that the Georgia Tech Safety and Health Program also works directly with industry. Georgia Tech staff members perform on-campus training and consultation at the OSHA Training Institute Education Center, and also at job sites throughout Georgia and the Southeast. Dunham believes the high-school training effort is an important new direction. It not only helps prepare students for the workplace, but it also can expand availability of the OSHA course by training high school faculty to teach it. Bringing the OSHA 10-hour course to high schools is one of the first results of the Georgia Youth Alliance, a 2006 outreach agreement between OSHA, GTRI, the Georgia Department of Education, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, the American Society of Safety Engineers and the Construction Education Foundation of Georgia. Dunham -- a second-generation industrial hygienist (her father is also involved in the profession) -- was an initiator of the youth-outreach effort. “The push to involve youth in health-safety training is big nationally, and since we wanted to make it work locally, I suggested the idea of an alliance,” Dunham recalled. “Though we've started out small, there’s opportunity for this to really grow through a variety of efforts. For example, we go to career fairs to get the message out, too.” The outreach effort is primarily funded by OSHA. It’s also enjoyed volunteer support from industry groups that have participated in the teaching effort. An additional benefit to youth outreach, she says, is that it informs students about the industrial-hygiene profession itself. ”We’re trying to show young people that this is a really interesting career,” said Dunham. “It’s kind of like [the television program] ‘CSI,’ but it's in the workplace. You go in and you're the detective – somebody’s complaining that they're having a hard time breathing, and you try to figure out what’s causing that.”Forsyth County Schools Adopt ANGEL Learning Management Suite Forsyth County Schools has adopted the ANGEL Learning Management Suite (LMS). A quickly growing school district northeast of Atlanta, Forsyth County Schools licensed a competitive system before switching to ANGEL LMS. The switch to ANGEL brings the district additional online learning management functionality. “As the first school system in Georgia to make a commitment to a learning management system for all secondary school teachers, we are striving to ensure that for our students the learning never stops,” states Steve Mashburn, coordinator of online education, Forsyth County Schools. The school system will make ANGEL available in each of its four high schools in the fall of 2007 and implement the system in its eight middle schools in the winter of 2008. The district holds a progressive view of the use of technology in education. “Today’s students have never known a world where technology did not exist and their worldview has to be addressed,” maintains Bailey Mitchell chief officer of technology and information for Forsyth County Schools. “We strongly believe that new technology demands a new way of looking at education. In Forsyth County, we are not satisfied in using technology to do things better; we strive to use technology to do better things.” Forsyth County Schools serves more than 28,000 students. By the year 2013, enrollment is projected to exceed 50,000 students. The district is currently home to nine Georgia Schools of Excellence and one National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Dell, Intel Transform Ron Clark Academy Into Interactive Learning Environment Academy Focuses on 21st Century Skills and Leadership Principles The Ron Clark Academy, a premier educational facility for inner-city fifth- through eighth-grade students in Atlanta, will open this fall using Dell technology to create an interactive classroom learning environment. Dell and Intel have combined forces to ensure students at the academy have the latest educational technology, helping them develop the 21st century skills they need to succeed in the workplace. The academy is the vision of its namesake, Ron Clark, who was named Disney's American Teacher of the Year in 2000 and who authored the bestselling book, The Essential 55: An Award-Winning Educator's Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child. “Teaching students using the best methods from around the world has been a dream of mine for years, and technology from Dell and Intel are helping make this dream come true,” said Clark. “Technology will play an integral role in every aspect of our operations, from instruction in the classroom to school administration.” The Ron Clark Academy turned to Dell and Intel to create a technology infrastructure that would grow with the school, providing leading-edge applications for today, and well into the future. Through the Dell School Architecture™, a robust IT infrastructure framework that helps K-12 customers manage complex technology challenges, Dell and Intel team members have worked with the administrators and educators to develop a comprehensive technology plan that will help them reach their education goals. Dell and Intel worked with the academy to infuse state-of-the-art technology into every aspect of the school – from the classroom to the back office, including:
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