Education

Atlanta Schools Improved College, Career Readiness Scores

May 4th, 2016

The Georgia Department of Education has released its College and Career Ready Performance Index scores, which are score cards for Georgia schools.

Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said she’s smiling since the scores were released. Of the 27 low performing APS schools, seven have improved enough to be removed from Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed Opportunity School District list. Schools on the list could be at risk of a state takeover after November.

Carstarphen said, of those still at risk, “10 of those, that’s like half. They are showing progress. They are showing some gains, and that’s very encouraging.”

The governor has said that if voters approve his plan in November, schools showing improvements could be passed over and avoid state control. A school would be considered failing if it scores below 60 on the Georgia Department of Education’s College and Career Performance Index for three years in a row.

If the statewide district were created, it would be led by a superintendent who reports directly to the governor. State officials could apply different interventions, like turning the schools into charters. They could also shut them down.

In DeKalb County, of the 24 schools eligible for the Opportunity School District list, 20 are showing improvement. Three are in need of more assistance.

“Those schools will go into what I will call triage, in terms of what is taught, when it’s taught, how it’s taught,” said DeKalb County Superintendent R. Stephen Green.

WABE reporter Martha Dalton contributed to this report.