Press release [July 15, 2009]

Georgia Department of Education - Press Release
MEDIA CONTACT: GaDOE Communications office, (404) 463-1487, dtofig@gadoe.org More than 79 percent of Georgia's public schools made Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, according to initial results -- a 10 point jump over 2008. Additionally, 58 schools across the state shook the "Needs Improvement" label by having made AYP for two consecutive years. "The initial AYP results demonstrate that our students are continuing to make excellent progress even as we raise expectations," said State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox. "Clearly, our teachers and students are working harder than ever and we're seeing the results." Superintendent Cox released the initial 2009 AYP Report Tuesday, July 14, while speaking at the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders (GAEL) conference in Jekyll Island. The final AYP report will be released in the fall and will include summer retest scores and summer graduates. Compared to initial AYP results last year, the 2009 report shows that:
q The percentage of schools making AYP jumped more than 10 points from 68.8% to 79.1%. q The percentage of elementary schools making AYP jumped 13.4 points and the percentage of middle schools
jumped 10.4 points. q The percentage of Title 1 schools making AYP increased by more than 13 points, from 64.8% to 78.4% (Title 1
schools have a significant population of economically-disadvantaged students).
Superintendent Cox said the improvements that elementary and middle school students showed in mathematics are a big part of the AYP results. Pass rates on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) in mathematics improved in all grades across the state (More information: http://www.gadoe.org/pea_communications.aspx?ViewMode=1&obj=1822). "Mathematics achievement was a key to our improvement in AYP results this year," said Superintendent Cox. "We are asking our students to learn more rigorous mathematics and they are showing us that they can do it!" The percentage of high schools making AYP continues to lag behind. In 2009, just over 47 percent of the state's high schools made AYP, a slight decrease from 2008's initial results. "We know there is a lot of hard work going on in our high schools," Superintendent Cox said. "We need to continue to study the data and work together to make sure our high schools are not only meeting AYP goals but are preparing students for the 21st century." 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
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Georgia Department of Education - Press Release
Improvement" status and face escalating consequences. For more information on AYP, go to http://tinyurl.com/AYPFAQ2009.
58 Schools No Longer in "Needs Improvement"
Initial results show that 58 schools came out of "Needs Improvement" -- or NI -- status by making AYP for the second consecutive year. Twelve of those schools had been in NI status for five or more years and were facing the highest level of sanctions. "Getting out of NI status isn't easy," Superintendent Cox said. "These 58 schools should be very proud of their accomplishments, but need to remain focused in order to keep improving." There are 334 schools in NI status for the coming school year. These schools must offer parents options, such as public school choice or federally-funded tutoring. Depending on how long these schools have been in NI, some may have to make structural or organizational changes to improve student achievement.
Graduation Rate
The state's initial 2009 graduation rate is 77.8 percent. That is up from the initial 2008 graduation rate of 74.4 percent and the final 2008 graduation rate of 75.4 percent, which included summer graduates. "Improving the graduation rate continues to be a top priority in the state of Georgia," Superintendent Cox said. "I am proud of the progress we are making, but there is certainly a lot of work left to be done." Graduation Rate must be used as a "second indicator" for all high schools and the bar was raised this year. In order to make AYP 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:
q Having a graduation rate that averaged 75 percent or higher over the past three years OR q 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
q AYP Website (spreadsheets with school-level and system-level information): http://www.gadoe.org/ayp2009.aspx q Guide to using the AYP report website: http://tinyurl.com/2009AYPGuide q AYP "By the Numbers": http://tinyurl.com/2009AYPNumbers
School and District Highlights
q School and District Highlights List
2009 Georgia Department of Education, 205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive S.E., Atlanta, GA 30334
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