Monthly update [May 2017]

May 2017 Monthly Update
GOSA Releases Education Update on Georgia's AP Program
On May 30, GOSA published an education update summarizing trends in Georgia's Advanced Placement (AP) program in public schools between 2011-2012 and 2015-2016. College Board's AP program provides college-level courses taught by trained high school teachers within the high school setting. Students who take AP courses have the option of taking an accompanying AP exam and potentially receiving college credit for scoring three or above on the test.
The education update uses data from GOSA's Report Card to examine trends in AP test-taking and pass rates from 2011-2012 to 20152016. Key findings include:
The number of students taking AP tests in Georgia grew by 24.1% from 68,259 to 84,697. The number of AP tests administered in Georgia grew by 27.6% from 115,803 to 147,760. The percentage of high school students taking AP tests rose from 14.8% to 16.9%. The percentage of AP tests with passing scores (score of three or higher) in Georgia slightly increased from 54.6% to 56.4%. Geographically, districts with high AP pass rates were concentrated around Atlanta and the northern and southeastern parts of the state, while several districts in central and southwest Georgia had no AP tests administered or had pass rates lower than 15% in 2015-2016.
GOSA has also partnered with College Board to implement the Georgia Rural AP STEM Initiative, which aims to support rural school districts in implementing successful AP programs in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) areas. Seven districts were awarded grants through this initiative in hopes of building capacity and expanding AP course offerings in districts with limited AP participation.
To read the education update, click here.

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The Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) strives to increase student achievement and school completion across Georgia through meaningful, transparent, and objective analysis and communication of statewide data. In addition, GOSA provides policy support to the Governor and, ultimately, to the citizens of Georgia. Georgia Education Data and Dashboards
Georgia School Reports
Georgia Schools Like Mine Dashboard
Georgia Higher Learning and Earnings Dashboard
High School Graduate Outcomes Dashboard
Interactive Education Data Map
Downloadable Education Data Files

Apply for an Innovation Fund Tiny Grant
GOSA's Innovation Fund Tiny Grant program provides traditional public schools, charter schools, and school districts between $1,000 and $10,000 to implement an innovative project that will deeply engage students. An innovative project solves an existing problem in an inventive way and has the potential to have a large and lasting impact on the academic environment. GOSA will be conducting a June review of Tiny Grant applications. All applications submitted by June 1 will be notified of their status by the end of June.
Tiny Grant-funded programs or projects must align with one of the following priority areas:
Applied Learning with a Focus on STEAM education Development and Replication of Blended Learning School Models; or Birth to Age Eight Language and Literacy Development.
GOSA accepts Tiny Grant applications on a rolling basis and reviews those applications several times throughout the year. If you miss the June review, apply by September 1 to be considered for the next round of applications.
To apply for an Innovation Fund Tiny Grant or find out more information, click here.

Analyze School Performance Using Georgia School Grades Reports
The Georgia School Grades Reports website provides school reports for all public elementary, middle, and high schools in Georgia. The reports include AF letter grades based on school performance as well as other information about schools, such as performance on state tests, the make-up of the student body, student mobility, school climate, the graduation rate, and the college enrollment rate.
The purpose of these reports is to help parents, students, educators, and communities understand how their local schools are performing and focus improvement efforts on the most critical challenges.
The Georgia School Grades Reports website is available at https://schoolgrades.georgia.gov.
To view the user's guide, click here.
To view a webinar on how to use the site, click here.

Innovation in Teaching Spotlight
Stuart Ogburn Norton Park Elementary School Cobb County School District
The Importance of Weather Prediction
The Innovation in Teaching Competition recognizes and awards Georgia educators who are using innovative strategies to advance student achievement. Stuart Ogburn, 4th grade teacher at Norton Park Elementary School, teaches his students to be meteorologists in this project-based learning weather unit. Students learn to forecast the weather by engineering instruments and collecting and analyzing weather data. The unit culminates in a weather forecast production in which students create a script on predicted weather patterns, record a forecast, and utilize technology to develop a weather map.
To view a video of the unit plan, as well as the unit plan and supplementary materials, click here.
To view other unit plans from Innovation in Teaching Competition winners, click here.

As the state's P-20 education agency, the Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) strives to increase student achievement, school completion, and life opportunities for all Georgia students. GOSA provides policy support to the Governor and ultimately the citizens of Georgia through:
Communicating meaningful education data to stakeholders; Providing research support and data analysis on various education programs in Georgia to inform the Governor's policy, budget, and legislative efforts; Auditing education programs to ensure fidelity at the district and school-level to performance and accountability requirements; and Identifying, supporting, and sustaining educational innovations that align with the Governor's education priorities.
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