Officials from the Georgia Department of Education say the career clusters framework will allow students to choose one of 17 career pathways based on what they’d like to study in college. The pathways range from business management and administration to world languages and are based on a set of core curriculum and electives.

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Some of these have been welcome changes and PAGE has joined with educators across the state in welcoming them. Many others, however, have been less than welcome (or have worn out their welcome) and PAGE has joined with educators in raising valid concerns and bringing forward constructive criticisms.

I believe that the time has come for some serious questions and critical discussions about the current status and future of K-12 public education both within and outside the public education community. I salute state school superintendent John Barge, who has already begun publicly asking some of these questions. He, like many of us, is concerned about the overall impacts on our students, our teachers and the quality of public education in our state. He has not always been popular in the halls of policy and power for raising his concerns, but he has persevered on behalf of the 1.6 million students our public schools serve each day.

Given the fiscal impact of cumulative education budget cuts, the financial crisis that hit in 2008, the sharp decline in tax digests and education funds derived from them, our schools have suffered severely during the past several years. Salaries have flat-lined, Reductions in Force (RIFs) have been all too common. Educators and their families have suffered from the effects of furlough days that seem to increase each year.

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State School Superintendent Dr. John D. Barge addresses the graduating class of 2013.

Georgia’s most recent public high school graduation rate rose more than two percentage points over the previous year – from 67.4 percent in 2011 to 69.7 percent in 2012.

This is the second year Georgia has calculated the graduation rate using a new formula – known as the adjusted cohort rate – as required by the U.S. Department of Education. Based on an estimated cohort graduation rate of 58.6 percent in 2009, the rate of students getting diplomas has risen by 11 percentage points since 2009. The cohort rate was applied to 2009’s graduating class to help create a trend line, even though the state used a different calculation then.

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The state now measures the high school graduation rate by the number of students who start high school together, and the number of students who finish four years later. State education officials say the new formula takes better account of dropouts.

But Joseph Noel, Director of Assessment and Accountability for Bibb County schools, says that is one of the reasons Bibb County’s graduation rate was just 52 percent last year.

He says “We’re a very transient community. Often students move in and out of our district more often than other districts, I would think.” And while the graduation rate hasn’t risen in Bibb County, Noel says there are some hopeful signs. “Our writing scores are going up. Our overall scores are going up in terms of student performance.” Noel says Bibb County is trying to offer more career ready and college ready courses to help more students complete high school.

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“This innovative program serving military bases in the U.S. can open doors to college for more students by providing them with rigorous, project-based coursework to help them succeed in the competitive fields of science, technology, engineering, and math,” said Sara Martinez Tucker , CEO of NMSI. “The partnership with these high schools will help provide continuity and excellence to help make a huge impact on young students’ lives.”

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Here is the news release from the State Department of Education:

State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge today released the first-ever Georgia College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) that measures schools and school districts on an easy-to-understand 100 point scale. The state, as well as each district, will receive a score for each grade band (Elementary, Middle and High School). The average score for Georgia’s elementary schools is 83.4, middle schools is 81.4 and high schools is 72.6. 

The CCRPI is the new accountability system that replaces the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) measurement in Georgia. The U.S. Department of Education granted Georgia’s waiver from NCLB on Feb. 9, 2012.   “I am very pleased that we now have a school improvement measure as in-depth as the College and Career Ready Performance Index,” said Superintendent Barge. “We are no longer bound by the narrow definitions of success found in the Adequate Yearly Progress measurement. Holding schools accountable and rewarding them for the work they do in all subjects and with all students is critical in preparing our students to be college and career ready. The index effectively measures how schools prepare our students for success.” 

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As part of the state’s waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind Act, officials rewrote the rules for judging school performance. And the new measurement, called the College and Career Ready Performance Index, doles out grades on a 100-point scale.

Such a framework should be easier for parents to understand. State officials say the new measure takes some of the high stakes off the previous Adequate Yearly Progress yardstick, which measured school performance by using math and reading scores.

The new index sets a broader definition of success by including scores on social studies and science tests, and takes into account graduation rates, progress and achievement gaps.

“This is measuring more of what schools do,” state School Superintendent John Barge told reporters Tuesday. “There’s a whole lot that they’re accountable for now, not just that one test score.”

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State education officials released the scores Tuesday under Georgia’s new accountability system, dubbed the College and Career Ready Performance Index. It’s a shift from the way schools have been evaluated for the past decade, and it is the first time schools have been graded in such detail.

Overall, school administrators applaud the new system, saying it’s fair and more helpful than the previous system under the No Child Left Behind law.

“I’m pleased with the CCRPI in general,” said Eric Payne, Houston County’s assistant superintendent for teaching and learning. “It’s a better way to give an in-depth look at effectiveness and the school improvement measures that we have. Before, it was pretty much pass/fail.”

The index is used to grade schools on a 100-point scale, much like the way students are graded. Schools are graded in three major categories: achievement, progress and achievement gap. In the midstate region, some schools received nearly perfect scores for the 2011-2012 school year, while others failed.