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<< Georgia Education News Back Issues
Georgia's graduation rate rose to a high of 78.9 percent in 2009 -- an increase of three points over last year The state of Georgia's graduation rate rose to a high of 78.9 percent in 2009 -- an increase of three points over last year. "A three-point jump in our graduation rate means that nearly 4,500 more students graduated with a full diploma this year than did last year," said State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox. "Our high school principals, teachers and students should take a lot of pride in the fact that more students than ever are graduating in Georgia. Since 2003, the state's graduation rate has risen more than 15 points from 63.3 percent to 78.9 percent. "In a short period of time, we have increased by thousands the number of students who are graduating with a full diploma," Superintendent Cox said. "We still have a lot of work to do, but we are making steady progress every year." To see Georgia's plan for improving the graduation rate, visit our Strategic Plan website. Highlights of the Final AYP report: - One-hundred fifty (150) additional schools made AYP after summer retest scores and summer graduates were included. In total, 86 percent of Georgia's public schools made AYP in 2009, an increase of six percentage points from the final AYP report of 2008 (see list below). - A total of 73 school districts had all schools make AYP in 2009, an increase of 25 districts from 2008 (see list below). - Sixteen (16) additional schools came out of Needs Improvement (NI) status this year compared to initial AYP results released in July (see list below). That means a total of 74 schools shook the NI label in 2009. Of the 74 schools, 17 were in "state-directed" improvement, the highest consequence level in Georgia. "It takes a lot of hard work and focus to come out of Needs Improvement, especially for schools that have been in NI for a long period of time," Superintendent Cox said. "Our school improvement team has worked closely with these schools and we know they have done the right things to improve student achievement today and for years to come." AYP is the formula used to determine if schools are meeting expectations under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. It consists of three parts -- test participation, academic achievement and another statistic, called a "second indicator." The academic goals continue to rise every few years toward a goal of 100 percent proficiency for all students by 2014. This year, all of the academic goals remained the same as 2008, although the graduation rate bar went up. All students at a school, as well as any qualifying subgroup of students, must meet goals in all three categories in order to "make AYP." Schools that do not make AYP for two consecutive years in the same subject are placed in "Needs Improvement" status and face escalating consequences. For more information on AYP, go to the Frequently Asked Questions about AYP. In order to make AYP in 2009, a high school had to have a graduation rate of 75 percent or higher, up from 70 percent last year. If a school did not make that goal, they could use a "second look" which means: - Having a graduation rate that averaged 75 percent or higher over the past three years OR - Having a graduation rate of at least 55 percent the previous year (2008) and showing a 10 percent improvement in the rate this year.
MORE INFORMATION ADDITIONAL 16 SCHOOLS THAT CAME OUT OF NEEDS IMPROVEMENT 150 ADDITIONAL SCHOOLS THAT MADE AYP AS OF 10/1/2009 73 SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITH ALL SCHOOLS MAKING AYP Georgia Students Show Significant Improvement on National Assessment Georgia is one of just 15 states to show significant improvement in eighth-grade mathematics, according to national test results released today. The results of the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are the first national results that show the impact of Georgia's new mathematics curriculum. Nearly all the grade 8 students who took the NAEP last school year had been taught using the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) in mathematics for three years. Georgia’s eighth grade scores on the NAEP have also shown a higher rate of growth than the nation over the last several years. In 2003, Georgia's score of 270 was six points lower than the nation (276). This year’s results show the gap between Georgia and the nation has decreased to just four points. “Since I became State Superintendent in 2003 my focus has been on implementing a more rigorous curriculum and requiring higher expectations of all students,” Superintendent Cox said. The National Assessment of Educational Progress is a test given to a representative sampling of students from each state across the nation. The test is scored on a scale from 0 to 500 and is also broken down into four scoring categories: below basic, basic, proficient and advanced. NAEP results for Mathematics were released in grades 4 and 8. NAEP results in other subjects, including reading, will be released in the coming months.
GRADE 8 Georgia is one of 15 states that shows statistically-significant improvement on the Mathematics NAEP when compared to the last test given in 2007. Georgia's eighth graders scored 278, up three points and just four points behind the national average of 282. All subgroups in Grade 8 showed improvement, most notably Hispanic students (270, up four points from 2007) and economically disadvantaged students (265, up three points). About two-thirds of Georgia's 8th graders (67%) scored at basic level or higher on the 2009 NAEP -- up three points from 2007 -- and 27% scored at proficient or above, up two points. The achievement gap between Black and White students in 8th grade in Georgia continues to be smaller than the national average. Since 2003, Georgia’s gap has decreased seven points from 34 to 27 while the national average has closed only three points from 35 to 32. Georgia has also closed the achievement gap among students eligible for the National School Lunch Program and those that are not. This gap has closed six points since 2003 from 31 to 25, while the national average closed only one point.
GRADE 4 Fourth-grade scores on the Mathematics NAEP were fairly steady compared to 2007. Georgia's grade 4 test-takers scored 236 on the Mathematics NAEP, up one point from 2007 and just three points behind the national average. Georgia's student subgroup scores also remained generally the same. None of the changes in Georgia's fourth-grade scores were considered statistically significant. In 2009, 78 percent of Georgia's fourth-graders scored at or above the basic level, down one point from 2007. However, 34 percent scored at the proficient level or higher, up two points from the last test. The achievement gap between Hispanic and White students in 4th grade in Georgia continues to be smaller than the national average. In 2009, the Hispanic to White achievement gap was five points less than the national average.
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