The performance of state charter schools in Georgia, 2017/2018

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
The Performance of State Charter Schools in Georgia, 2017/18
By Tim R. Sass, Ph.D. Distinguished University Professor
Department of Economics Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Georgia State University
February 17, 2019

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... 3 I. Introduction and Background.................................................................................................... 7 II. Results All State Charters..................................................................................................... 15
A. Value-Added and Student Growth Model Estimates....................................................................15 B. Summary of Findings .............................................................................................................................. 17 III. Results Individual School Summaries................................................................................ 29 Atlanta Heights Charter School...................................................................................................................30 Brookhaven Innovation Academy.............................................................................................................. 41 Cherokee Charter Academy.......................................................................................................................... 46 Cirrus Academy Charter................................................................................................................................. 57 Coastal Plains Education Charter High School...................................................................................... 62 Coweta Charter Academy .............................................................................................................................. 65 DuBois Integrity Academy ............................................................................................................................ 76 Foothills Education Charter High School ................................................................................................ 84 Fulton Leadership Academy......................................................................................................................... 88 Genesis Academy for Boys ............................................................................................................................ 99 Genesis Academy for Girls.......................................................................................................................... 102 Georgia Connections Academy................................................................................................................. 105 Georgia Cyber Academy .............................................................................................................................. 110 Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics ................................................................................ 115 International Academy of Smyrna.......................................................................................................... 120 International Charter School of Atlanta ............................................................................................... 129 Ivy Preparatory Academy at Kirkwood for Girls .............................................................................. 133 Liberty Tech Charter School...................................................................................................................... 144 Mountain Education Center....................................................................................................................... 148 Odyssey School ............................................................................................................................................... 153 Pataula Charter Academy ........................................................................................................................... 163 Resurgence Hall.............................................................................................................................................. 179 SAIL School for Arts-Infused Learning .............................................................................................. 185 Scintilla Charter Academy.......................................................................................................................... 188 Southwest Georgia STEM Charter........................................................................................................... 196

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Statesboro STEAM College, Careers, Arts & Technology Academy (formerly Charter Conservatory for Liberal Arts & Technology (CCAT)).................................................................... 199 Utopian Academy for the Arts .................................................................................................................. 209 IV. References............................................................................................................................ 216 Appendix: Value Added Model Approach ................................................................................... 218 A. Value-Added Model Specification and Estimation .................................................................... 218 B. Value-Added Model Estimates .......................................................................................................... 222
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State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Executive Summary
A total of 29 state charter schools operated in Georgia during the 2017/18 school year. For six of the schools, Coastal Plains Education Charter High School, Genesis Academy for Boys, Genesis Academy for Girls, International Academy of Smyrna, Resurgence Hall, and SAIL-School for Arts-Infused Learning, 2017/18 was the first year of operation. Four of the schools, Brookhaven Innovation Academy, Cirrus Academy Charter, Liberty Tech Charter School, and Southwest Georgia STEM Charter, began operations in the 2016/17 school year. Two schools, Graduation Achievement and Ivy Preparatory Academy at Gwinnett, closed after the 2017/18 school year, so they are not included in this report. Thus, this report documents the performance of 27 state charter schools in 2017/18, the performance of 21 of those schools in 2016/17 and the performance of 17 of the currently operating schools in 2015/16.
Two test-based measures of school performance are employed: value-added and mean student growth percentiles. The value-added measure is the result of a two-step process. In the first step, the difference between a student's actual score and their predicted score (which is based on their observable characteristics) is computed, then these differences are averaged across all tested students in a school. In the second step, adjustments to a school's score are made to account for the differences in the population of students it serves. The student-growthpercentile approach ranks each student's performance relative to that of other students with the same or similar test score history, and then averages these rankings across all tested students in a school. Each school's performance on these two metrics is compared to all other schools in the state and to other schools in the district or districts it serves (if the service area is not statewide). Relative school performance is reported for each subject-area or course exam taken by at least 15 students in a school, as well as for the cross-subject average of English Language Arts (ELA) and Math end-of-course and end-of-grade exams.
Key findings are:
State charter schools serve diverse student bodies and many provide learning environments that differ from those of traditional public schools. State charter schools vary along multiple dimensions, including grade levels, student demographics, instructional mode (face-to-face or virtual), curricular focus and geographic area served.
Grade Levels o A plurality of state charters (13 of 27) serve a combination of elementary (K-5) and middle grades (6-8). o Three serve only elementary grades. o One serves only middle school grades. o Three serve only high school grades (9-12). o Five schools serve elementary, middle and at least some high school grades. o The remaining two schools serve both middle and high school grades.
Student Demographics o Four of the 27 schools are single-gender schools. o At eight schools, African-American enrollment is 90 percent or more. o For two schools, the majority of students are directly certified, a proxy for economically disadvantaged that is defined as living in households receiving SNAP or TANF benefits, or are classified as homeless or migrants.
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State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
o Two schools have over fifteen percent of their students classified as gifted, while eight schools report less than one percent of their students as gifted.
Instructional Mode o Two of the 27 schools provide fully online course offerings. o The remaining 25 schools offer primarily face-to-face instruction.
Geographic Area Served o Nine of the 27 schools accept students from a single school district only. o Four schools offer enrollment to students in multiple school districts. o The two fully-online virtual schools and twelve of the "brick-and-mortar" schools allow students from throughout the state to attend.
Less than one-tenth of state charter schools serving elementary grades perform at a level that one can say with 95 percent confidence is above the average public elementary school in the state with a similar student population.
Twenty-one state charter schools serve elementary grades. For two schools, the cross-subject average performance is above the state average for all
elementary schools at a level that is statistically significant. For eight schools, the cross-subject average performance is not distinguishable from the
state average for all elementary schools in terms of statistical significance. For ten schools, the cross-subject average performance is below the state average for all
elementary schools at a level that is statistically significant. One school tested fewer than 15 students; therefore, its performance cannot be
reported.
Just under one-third of state charter schools serving elementary grades within a defined attendance zone perform at a level at which one can be at least 95 percent certain they are performing better than the average of all elementary schools in their district(s).
Of the 21 state charters serving elementary grades, ten have a non-statewide attendance zone that includes one or more districts. For two of the ten, the estimated cross-subject average ELA and Math performance is above that of the average elementary school in their relevant district(s) and precise enough that we can say with 95 percent or more confidence that their performance exceeds that of other comparable public schools in their service area.
For three schools, the cross-subject average performance is not distinguishable from the average of all elementary schools in their relevant district(s).
For four non-statewide charter school, the cross-subject average performance is below that of the average elementary school in its relevant district(s) at a level that is statistically significant.
One school tested fewer than 15 students; therefore, its performance cannot be reported.
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State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Half of state charter schools serving middle grades perform below the average public middle school in the state with a similar student population at a level that is statistically significant.
Twenty-one state charter schools serve middle grades. For two schools, their cross-subject average performance is above the state average for
all middle schools at a level that is statistically significant For nine state charter schools, their cross-subject average performance is
indistinguishable from the state average for all middle schools. For eleven state charter schools, their cross-subject average performance is below the
state average for all middle schools at a level that is statistically significant. One school serves K-5, but gives middle school EOG exams.
Only one state charter school serving middle grades within a defined attendance zone performed at a level that is clearly better than the average of all middle schools in their relevant district(s).
Ten state charter schools that serve middle grades have a non-statewide attendance zone that includes one or more school districts.
One of the ten schools' cross-subject ELA and Math performance is higher than the average middle school in its relevant district(s).
For four of the ten non-statewide schools, the cross-subject average performance is indistinguishable from the average middle school in their district(s).
For five schools of the ten non-statewide schools, the cross-subject average performance is worse than the average middle school in their district(s).
The performance of state charter schools serving high school grades varies when compared to the average public high school in the state.
Ten state charter schools serve grades 9-12. In three high schools, their cross-subject average performance is statistically higher than
the state average for all high schools. In five high schools, their individual test-school performance is higher than the state
average of all high schools in at least one subject. For seven schools, their individual test-school performance is indistinguishable from the
state average of all high schools in at least one subject. In five schools, their individual test-school performance is below the state average of all
high schools in at least one subject. Across the 54 test-school combinations:
o the test-school performance was indistinguishable from the state average in 26 cases; o the test-school performance was below the state average in 18 cases and that
difference is statistically significant; and o the test-school performance was above the state average in 10 cases, with the
difference being statistically significant. Small sample sizes at some of the tested schools, in part, contribute to their results being
indistinguishable from the state.
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State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Two schools tested fewer than 15 students; therefore, their performance cannot be reported.
One school only has a cross-subject average and not enough students to report scores for each individual end-of-course exam.
For the majority of subjects at the high school level, most state charters with non-statewide attendance zones perform at a level that is indistinguishable from the average high school in their district(s).
Of the ten state charter schools that serve high school grades, three serve students in one or more school districts, resulting in 19 subject-school combinations.
For one school, its performance is indistinguishable from the district average in four of six subjects.
In another school, its performance is indistinguishable from the district average in three of eight subjects.
For the third school, its performance is indistinguishable from the district average in five of five subjects.
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State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
I. Introduction and Background
Twenty-nine state charter schools operated in Georgia during the 2017/18 school year, but two have since closed, so this report only includes performance metrics for the remaining 27 schools. Even though the current State Charter Schools Commission (SCSC) has only been in operation since 2013, a number of the state charter schools began operation well before 2013. Some charters schools were originally formed as state chartered special schools or were initially chartered by the original Georgia Charter Schools Commission, which was declared unconstitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court.1 Table 1 summarizes information about the 27 schools that operated during the 2017/18 school year and remain in operation in 2018/19. The information provided includes when the school opened, whether it is affiliated with an education management organization (EMO), grades served, curricular model, school calendar, delivery model (virtual vs. physical classrooms), attendance zone, and any special enrollment requirements (e.g., parental participation requirements or gender restrictions). The 27 schools vary in their structure, mission, and service area. For example, two of the 27 state charter schools are virtual schools, and many of the state charter schools target traditionally underserved populations. Four of the schools are single-gender schools. Less than half of state charter schools (9 of 27) serve students in a single school district, while the others either serve students from multiple school districts or the entire state.
The state charter schools also vary considerably in the populations of students they serve, as illustrated in Table 2. Eight of the 27 schools have student bodies consisting of 90 percent or more African-American students. In contrast, one has a student population in which 75 percent or more of the students are non-Hispanic whites. There is considerable diversity in proportions of Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students, students eligible for Free/Reduced-Price Lunch (FRL), Direct Certification Students, Students with Disabilities (SWD), and gifted students as well.2
1Details on the history of charter schools in general and more specifically state chartered schools, are contained in Georgia Department of Education (2012). 2The school-level FRL percentage is computed from individual-level data. If an individual student attended a school that participates in provision 2 of the Special Assistance Alternatives (SAS) or the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), as provided by the Georgia Department of Education's School Nutrition Program, then the student is classified as FRL, no matter what his original individual designation. Direct Certification refers to students who either live in a family unit receiving SNAP benefits, live in a family unit receiving TANF benefits, are identified as homeless, are in foster care, or are migrant. Since the income thresholds for SNAP and TANF benefits are lower than for free/reduced-price lunch, the direct certification percentage is generally lower than the FRL percentage in most schools. There are two SCSC schools where this is not the case, one of which has no students reported as FRL, suggesting the school either does not participate in the nutrition program or did not report FRL eligibility at the student level.
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State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Table 1: General Characteristics of State Charter Schools

School Name

Calendar Year
Opened

EMO Affiliation

Grades

Curriculum Focus

School Year

SingleGender School

National

Atlanta Heights

2010

Heritage

K-8

Academies

None

Normal

No

Compass Learning:

Brookhaven Innovation Academy

2016

No

cross-curricula,

K-6

STEM-focused; project-based

Extended Day/Year

No

K-8 coding

curriculum

Cherokee Charter Academy

2011

Charter Schools USA

K-8

None

Normal

No

Cirrus Academy Charter

2016

Coastal Plains Education Charter

2017

No

K-8

STEM + Arts

Normal

No

Self-paced,

individualized,

No

9-12

evening high school for students

Year-round

No

struggling at other

schools

Coweta Charter Academy

2010

Charter Schools USA

K-8

None

Normal

No

Virtual/ Online School
No
No
No
No
No
No

Serves Multiple Districts
No

Parental Involvement Requirement
Not Specified

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in
Atlanta Public Schools zone

Students

Yes

Not Specified

residing in

State of GA

No

20 hours volunteer/year for one child, 30 hours/year for more than one
child

Students residing in Cherokee County Public Schools zone

Students

Yes

Not Specified

residing in

State of GA

Students

Yes

Not specified

residing in

State of GA

No

20 hours volunteer/year for one child, 30 hours/year for more than one
child

Students residing in
Coweta County Public Schools zone

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State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

School Name

Calendar Year
Opened

EMO Affiliation

Grades

Curriculum Focus

School Year

SingleGender School

DuBois Integrity Academy

2015

Foothills Education Charter High
School
Fulton Leadership Academy
Genesis Academy for
Boys

2015 2010 2017

GA Common core

No

K-5 standards with STEM Normal

No

and Arts integration

Self-paced,

individualized,

No

9-12

evening high school for students

Year-round

No

struggling at other

schools

STEM with focus on

No

aviation and

6-12

aeronautics -

partnership with Civil

Normal

Boys Only

Air Patrol

No

K-10

College preparatory

Extended Day/Week/
Year

Boys Only

Virtual/ Online School
No
No
No
No

Serves Multiple Districts
No
Yes
No
Yes

Parental Involvement Requirement
30 volunteer hours/year

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in
Clayton County Public Schools zone

Not Specified

Students residing in State of GA

20 volunteer hours/year
Not specified

Students residing in
Fulton County Public Schools zone
Students residing in State of GA

Genesis Academy for
Girls

2017

No

K-10

College preparatory

Extended Day/Week/
Year

Girls Only

No

Students

Yes

Not specified

residing in

State of GA

Georgia Connections
Academy

2011

Connections Academy

K-12

Online Curriculum

Normal

No

Georgia Cyber Academy

2014

K12 Inc.

K-12

Online Curriculum

Normal

No

Students

Yes

Online

Not Specified

residing in

State of GA

Students

Yes

Online

Not Specified

residing in

State of GA

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State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

School Name

Calendar Year
Opened

Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics

2015

International Academy of
Smyrna

2017

International Charter School
of Atlanta

2015

EMO Affiliation
No
No No

Grades Curriculum Focus School Year

Classical education

approach with career

pathways for

K-7

secondary students

Normal

(Linguistics, Nuclear

Tech, Sustainable Ag,

Entertainment Tech)

International

Baccalaureate

K-6

Program, Primary

Normal

and Middle Years

programs

Language immersion

K-8

emphasis (French, German, Spanish,

Normal

Mandarin)

SingleGender School
No
No
No

Ivy Preparatory Academy at Kirkwood

2011

Liberty Tech Charter School

2016

Mountain Education Charter School

2007

Curriculum is entirely

No

K-8

College Preparatory. Saturday Academy is
available to

Extended Day/Week/
Year

Girls Only

struggling students.

Classical/STEM hybrid, House System to learn

Extended

No

3-8

college and career

Year: 210

No

readiness, physical education daily

days

Self-paced,

individualized,

No

9-12

evening high school for students

Year-round

No

struggling at other

schools

Virtual/ Online School
No
No No
No
No No

Serves Multiple Districts
Yes
No Yes
Yes
Yes Yes

Parental Involvement Requirement Not Specified
Not specified Not Specified
Not Specified
Not Specified No

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in State of GA
Students residing in Cobb County Schools zone
Students residing in State of GA
Students residing in
DeKalb County and
Atlanta Public Schools zones
Students residing in State of GA
Students residing in State of GA

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State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

School Name

Calendar Year
Opened

Odyssey School 2004

Pataula Charter Academy

2010

Resurgence Hall 2017

SAIL School for Arts-Infused Learning

2017

Scintilla Charter Academy

2015

EMO Affiliation
No
No
No No No

Grades Curriculum Focus School Year

Multi-age classrooms

- students grouped

K-8

by skill level/Looping:

students remain with

teacher two years

Expeditionary

Learning: project

based lectures and

K-12

curriculum

delivery/Looping:

students remain with

teacher for two years

Normal Normal

SingleGender School
No
No

Emphasis on

K-8

computer science, design-thinking and literacy and use of

Extended Day/Year

No

blended learning

Arts-infused learning

with robust fine arts

K-8

and foreign language

Normal

No

program, multiple year

looping

Project-based

K-5

learning with emphasis on service

Normal

No

learning

Virtual/ Online School
No
No
No
No No

Serves Multiple Districts
No
Yes
Yes
Yes Yes

Parental Involvement Requirement 18 hours per academic year
Not Specified
Not specified
Not specified
20 volunteer hours/year

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in
Coweta County Public Schools zone
Students residing in
Baker, Calhoun, Clay, Early, Randolph Public School
zones Atlanta Public Schools or Fulton County Schools zones
Students residing in State of GA
Students residing in Lowndes County and Valdosta City School zones

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State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

School Name

Calendar Year
Opened

EMO Affiliation

Grades

Curriculum Focus

School Year

SingleGender School

Virtual/ Online School

Serves Multiple Districts

Parental Involvement Requirement

Enrollment Restrictions

Southwest

Interdisciplinary,

Students

Georgia STEM

2016

No

K-5

place-based paired

Normal

No

No

Yes

Not Specified

residing in

Charter

with STEM

State of GA

Statesboro STEAM College, Careers, Arts &
Technology Academy (CCAT)

2002

Utopian Academy for the
Arts

2014

Multi-age classrooms

No

6-12

- students grouped Year-round

No

No

by skill level

Expeditionary

Learning Curriculum.

No

6-8

Single-gender instructional approach, and classes in the

Extended Day/Week/
Year

No

No

dramatic, media, and

culinary arts.

Students

No

1 Hour of Service/week

residing in Bulloch
County Public

Schools zone

Attendance of a Students

New Parent

residing in

No

Orientation

Clayton

Meeting & sign County Public

an agreement Schools zone

Sources: Georgia Department of Education (2010), Georgia Department of Education (2011), Georgia Department of Education (2016b), Georgia Department of Education (2016d), individual-level data from GAAWARDS and state charter school websites.

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State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Table 2: Students Served by State Charter Schools

School Name Atlanta Heights Brookhaven Cherokee Cirrus Coastal Plains Coweta DuBois Foothills Fulton Leadership Genesis - Boys Genesis - Girls GA Connections GA Cyber GA Innovation International - Smyrna International - Atlanta Ivy Prep. Kirkwood Liberty Tech Mountain Ed. Odyssey Pataula Resurgence Hall SAIL Scintilla

Pct. Female 51.0 44.8 49.6 54.1 48.4 51.6 49.5 44.5 0.0 0.0
100.0 53.7 51.7 50.9 51.3 57.7
100.0 52.8 47.3 45.0 49.1 50.0 63.7 50.6

Pct. White 0.1
45.4 68.0
2.9 55.1 71.8
0.3 54.5
0.0 3.6 2.7 49.7 47.3 71.6 1.6 39.1 0.0 62.3 78.8 50.3 69.4 0.9 68.1 48.4

Pct. Black 96.2 24.4 16.5 94.8 34.1 15.9 98.1 31.7 97.4 87.5 93.5 34.2 35.9 18.0 73.5 28.1 96.6 26.2 4.4 31.2 21.0 97.4 17.4 40.2

Pct. Hispanic
2.4 17.7 13.3
0.5 8.3 6.3 0.4 10.0 2.0 8.0 3.8 8.2 8.1 5.4 18.2 17.8 2.8 6.7 14.6 11.0 5.4 1.8 8.8 5.7

Pct. Other Race 1.2 12.5 2.2 1.8 2.4 6.0 1.2 3.7 0.6 0.9 0.0 7.9 8.7 5.1 6.7 14.9 0.6 4.9 2.2 7.5 4.3 0.0 5.8 5.7

Pct. FRL 94.5 10.5 14.4
100.0 47.1 11.3
100.0 61.5 87.3 45.1 53.0 29.5 66.5 0.0 66.2 1.1 78.2 17.6
100.0 40.6 61.5 66.7 15.0 52.6

Pct. Direct Cert 70.0 5.8 13.9 66.9 36.6 12.4 48.6 29.3 32.2 33.3 34.9 24.0 35.9 20.8 19.5 8.6 46.9 11.1 21.5 19.0 30.1 40.9 11.2 29.7

Pct. LEP 2.2
10.4 8.6 0.2 1.7 0.3 2.7 1.5 0.0 7.2 3.2 0.6 0.9 0.1
13.0 7.7 0.4 0.5 3.3 4.2 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.2

Pct. SWD 10.0 10.3 14.0 5.4 13.7 10.9 15.0 15.5 15.9 4.9 2.7 11.8 13.7 10.5 4.7 5.9 6.4 10.4 14.2 14.4 9.1 4.4 6.3 11.2

Pct. Gifted 0.0 0.0 4.5 0.0 1.4
13.9 1.9 2.4
10.1 5.4 2.7 4.1 9.3 5.9 8.7 6.5 0.0
15.7 0.0
11.0 5.4 0.0 7.9
11.6

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State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

School Name

Pct. Female Pct. White Pct. Black

Pct. Hispanic

Pct. Other Race

Pct. FRL

Pct. Direct Cert

Pct. LEP

Pct. SWD Pct. Gifted

Southwest GA

56.5

72.5

15.5

7.2

4.8

68.1

38.9

0.5

13.0

0.0

Statesboro STEAM

47.6

72.0

21.3

3.7

3.0

57.3

21.3

0.0

15.2

18.9

Utopian

49.4

0.4

94.2

4.6

0.8

100.0

44.2

0.0

12.0

0.0

Note: For the purposes of this table, students who attended more than one school were attributed to the school where they attended the longest period of time during the school year. Percent other race includes Asian, Pacific Islander, American Indian, and multiial. The percentage of students in each of the component racial groups is less than five percent for each state charter school, except for International Charter School of Atlanta. Foothills was allowed to submit a list of directly certified students in lieu of FRL, since Foothills has evening classes and no lunch program. The reported FRL percentage is based on this additional information.

Source: Individual-level student data from the GAAWARDS system and school-level data on direct certification and school-wide subsidized lunch programs from the Governor's Office of Student Achievement.

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State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
II. Results All State Charters
A. Value-Added and Student Growth Model Estimates
There are two methods employed by states to evaluate the impact of schools on student achievement, value-added models and student growth percentile models. Each method has advantages and disadvantages relative to the other. The value-added approach compares the actual test score of each student to the score that is predicted for that student based on their prior-year scores and observable characteristics. In contrast, the student growth percentile method compares the current test scores of students with those of other students who had the same or similar history of past test scores. Differences in the observable characteristics are not explicitly taken into account in the student growth percentile method. Details of the value-added estimation are provided in the Appendix. A thorough explanation of the student growth percentile model and how it compares to the value-added model are provided in Georgia Department of Education (2017). This report presents school performance estimates based on both approaches.
By construction, the average school (weighted by the count of students) at a given grade grouping (elementary, middle or high school) in Georgia has a school effect of zero in the valueadded model (controlling for individual and school-level student characteristics). The performance of each school in a given grade grouping is measured relative to this weighted average. Thus, a positive estimated value for an elementary school's effect indicates that students attending that school experience greater growth in achievement than do students with the same observable characteristics at schools serving similar student populations. Negative values do not mean that the achievement of the school's students fell during the year. Instead, a negative school effect indicates the gap between that school's contribution to student achievement and the contribution of the average school serving a similar student population (measured in standard deviation units). For example, a value of -0.10 means that a school's effect on student achievement is 0.10 standard deviations below that of the average of all schools in the state, where each school's contribution is based on their student's performance controlling for both individual-level student characteristics and prior test scores as well as school-level characteristics. In the same way, a value of 0.10 means that a school's effect is 0.10 standard deviations above the average of all schools in the state, where each school is being compared to schools serving observationally similar student bodies. To put this in perspective, reducing class size in elementary grades by seven students is associated with a 0.10 to 0.20 standard deviation increase in student achievement (Whitehurst & Chingos (2011)) and the difference in the effectiveness of a first-year teacher and one with three years of experience is about 0.07 standard deviations (Dee & Wyckoff (2015)).
The value-added effects for schools are statistical estimates and carry some degree of uncertainty. Along with the estimated effects, the value-added model generates a measure of the uncertainty of each school's effect, the estimated standard error. The estimated standard errors can be used to develop confidence intervals around each school's estimated impact on student achievement. With a confidence interval of approximately plus-or-minus two standard errors, one can be 95 percent confident that the true school effect lies in that range. Thus, for example, if a school's estimated effect is 0.50 and the standard error is 0.10, one can be 95 percent confident that the true effect lies in the range of 0.30 to 0.70. This information can then be used to determine how confident we are that a given school's performance is above, below, or equal to the average school. The standard errors and confidence intervals will generally be smaller as
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State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
the number of students per school increase. The estimated school effect on achievement will vary with the performance of individual students. In a small school, random events like a student having a poor night's sleep or getting "lucky" in his/her guesses on an exam will have a larger impact on the school's overall effect, creating more uncertainty in the true school effect; whereas in a large school, such random events will tend to cancel out. Thus, for example, the Georgia Cyber Academy, which has the largest enrollment of any state charter school, correspondingly tends to have the smallest confidence interval.
Student growth percentiles measure where a student is in the distribution of current achievement relative to students with the same prior-year test score (or history of test scores). Thus, by definition, a score of 50 for a student indicates that about half of students with the same test score last year did better this year and about half did worse. School-level averages of student growth percentiles are reported below. The statewide school-level mean of SGPs is approximately equal to the statewide student median of 50, which provides a benchmark for comparing scores across schools.3 Unlike the value-added model, the student growth percentiles produced from Georgia's student growth model do not include standard errors or confidence intervals.4 Without this information, one cannot quantify the likelihood that two schools with different mean SGPs are, in fact, different. In other words, without this measure of precision, we cannot judge one school as superior to another based on SGPs alone.
For both the value-added and student growth models, separate estimates are presented for different grade groupings and for different subjects. In addition, an estimated effect on average performance across all subjects in each grade grouping is produced. Thus, for example, a charter serving grades K-8 receives two value-added scores in Math, one for its impact on Math achievement of students in elementary grades (grades 4 and 5) and another for its impact on students in middle grades (grades 6-8).
3 For 2013/14, the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) computed student growth percentiles in two different ways. In the "cohort SGP" approach, statistical models are updated annually so that the median student receives a SGP of 50 each year. This means that the baseline is reset each year and (as with valueadded measures), it is not possible to measure a general increase in student achievement gains across all students. In attempt to capture general changes over time in teacher effectiveness, the GaDOE also computed a "baseline-referenced SGP." As the name implies, the baseline-referenced SGP uses the same model each year which was developed using a baseline cohort of students. This results in SGPs relative to the baseline cohort and, therefore, allows for the possibility of universal improvement in performance over time. However, as a consequence, the median baseline-referenced SGP does not necessarily equal 50. In 2013/14, cohort-referenced SGPs were used for EOCTs in Math, but baseline-referenced SGPs were used for the CRCTs and all non-Math EOCTs. Due to the adoption of the new Milestones exams, in 2014/15, only cohort-referenced SGPs were computed. See McCaffrey, Castellano and Lockwood (2014). 4 It is possible to compute standard errors for student growth percentiles, but there is no single accepted methodology for doing so and most state accountability systems that utilize student growth percentiles, including Georgia's, do not report standard errors at this time. For a discussion of standard errors in the student growth model, see Doran, Swanlund and Lemke (2012) and American Institutes for Research (2012).
16

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
B. Summary of Findings
A total of 11 figures comparing the school value-added and student growth percentiles for each charter school to the state-wide average are presented in this section. For both elementary grades and middle grades there are three figures: one for Math, one for English language arts (ELA), and another for the cross-subject average of Math and ELA.5 Within each of these six figures is a graph depicting performance based on school value-added and another representing school-average student growth percentiles. In past years, up to five subject-specific scores were reported for elementary and middle grades, but reading-specific tests were dropped in 2015/16 and science and social studies tests were no longer administered in consecutive grades in 2016/17. At the high school level, there are five figures depicting school performance derived from student scores on end-of-course exams in Math and language arts: 9th-Grade Literature, American Literature, Algebra 1, Geometry, and the cross-subject average of Math and ELA.6 Student growth percentiles are only available for 9th-Grade Literature, American Literature, Algebra 1 and Geometry.7
Based on value-added, the most common result overall was that state charters perform at a level that is not statistically different from the average of schools with similar student populations in Georgia. This is true in three of the six grade group/subject combinations: elementary ELA, middle school ELA, and Algebra 1. In three other areas, a plurality of state charters perform statistically worse than schools serving similar student populations: elementary Math, middle school Math, and Geometry. In none of the six areas was it most common for the state charters to outperform the state average. For both the elementary and middle school crosssubject averages, a plurality of state charter schools performed worse than the state average. The variation in effectiveness across subject areas could be due to a variety of factors, including teacher quality and instructional methods, which may vary across schools.
The comparisons with state averages provide an overall picture of state charter school performance. More relevant are comparisons between individual state charter schools and other schools (both traditional public schools and local charters) in the geographic areas they serve. Following the 11 figures that combine results for all state charters, Section III presents individual school summaries as well as graphs comparing each school's results with schools in the district it serves (where applicable).
5 Prior to 2016/17, end-of-grade exams were administered in grades 3-8 in four subjects, ELA, Math, science and social studies. The science and social studies tests were dropped in 2016/17. Consequently, crosssubject averages in 2016/17 are computed over four subjects, but only reflect Math and ELA performance after that year. 6 Two other end-of-course exams were administered in 2017/18, Coordinate Algebra and Analytic Geometry. Estimates for these two tests are not reported because none of the 27 current SCSC schools had a sufficient number of students (15 or more) taking the exam to yield reliable VAM estimates. 7 The GaDOE chose to only compute student growth percentiles for end-of-course exams in Math and ELA.
17

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Figure 1: Value-added Schools Effects (School Fixed Effects (FE)) and Mean Student Growth Percentiles for Schools Serving Grades 4 and 5 Average Across All Subjects [Statewide]
18

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Figure 2: Value-added Schools Effects (School Fixed Effects (FE)) and Mean Student Growth Percentiles for Schools Serving Grades 4 and 5 English Language Arts [Statewide]
19

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Figure 3: Value-added Schools Effects (School Fixed Effects (FE)) and Mean Student Growth Percentiles for Schools Serving Grades 4 and 5 Math [Statewide]
20

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Figure 4: Value-added Schools Effects (School Fixed Effects (FE)) and Mean Student Growth Percentiles for Schools Serving Grades 6, 7, and 8 Average Across All Subjects [Statewide]
21

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Figure 5: Value-added Schools Effects (School Fixed Effects (FE)) and Mean Student Growth Percentiles for Schools Serving Grades 6, 7, and 8 English Language Arts [Statewide]
22

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Figure 6: Value-added Schools Effects (School Fixed Effects (FE)) and Mean Student Growth Percentiles for Schools Serving Grades 6, 7, and 8 Mathematics [Statewide]
23

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Figure 7: Value-added School Effects and Mean Student Growth Percentiles for Schools Serving Grades 9 through 12 Average Across All Subjects [Statewide]
24

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Figure 8: Value-added Schools Effects (School Fixed Effects (FE)) and Mean Student Growth Percentiles for Schools Serving Grades 9 through 12 9th Grade Literature [Statewide]
25

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Figure 9: Value-added Schools Effects (School Fixed Effects (FE)) and Mean Student Growth Percentiles for Schools Serving Grades 9 through 12 American Literature [Statewide]
26

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Figure 10: Value-added Schools Effects (School Fixed Effects (FE)) and Mean Student Growth Percentiles for Schools Serving Grades 9 through 12 Algebra 1 [Statewide]
27

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Figure 11: Value-added Schools Effects (School Fixed Effects (FE)) and Mean Student Growth Percentiles for Schools Serving Grades 9 through 12 Geometry [Statewide]
28

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
III. Results Individual School Summaries
The following tables summarize both state and district comparisons of performance for each state charter school. Two estimates of school performance are reported, one based on the value-added model and the other derived from the student growth model. The value-added model includes a multitude of all available individual-level student characteristics (plus prior-year test scores) and the school-level percentages of students with disabilities, limited English proficiency students, and students who are directly certified as controls. In contrast, the student growth model indirectly controls for student characteristics by comparing the performance of individual students to other students with similar test-score histories.
For both the value-added and student growth percentile measures, a state percentile and a district rank are presented. The state percentile represents the proportion of schools in the state with a lower estimated school effect. Thus, for example, a state percentile of 60 means that 60 percent of schools in the relevant grade group rank below the school. District ranks represent the position of a school relative to other schools in the same district offering the same grade group. For example, a ranking of "25 out of 40" indicates that 24 schools from the relevant district have higher scores and 15 have lower scores. Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no district rank or district comparison.
For state charters with a less-than-statewide attendance zone, it is possible to compare their performance to traditional public schools and locally-approved charters in the same area. For nearly all state charter students, the relevant public school option is a school in the same district as the district served by their current school. Put differently, a within-district comparison shows how students would likely fare if a state charter were to close and a student then attended the average-performing school in the same district or multi-district area.
For both the value-added and student growth metrics, a comparison between a school's performance in 2017/18 and its performance in 2015/16 and 2016/17 is provided. Estimates for all three years are based on the same general two-step value-added approach. Due to data limitations, the construction of the direct certification measure in 2016/17 differs slightly from that used in other years. Also, due to the elimination of end-of-grade tests in science and social studies for grades 4, 6 and 7, the 2015/16 cross-subject average performance measures average performance over four subjects whereas for subsequent year the cross-subject average only includes Math and ELA.
Each school summary report is structured as follows: Key Findings General Characteristics School Demographics Value-Added and SGP Results Summary by Grade Level and Subject Comparison of Summary Results from 2015/16 through 2017/18 Comparison of School Impact (for non-statewide schools only)
29

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Atlanta Heights Charter School

Key Findings
The value-added estimate of the school's impact on a student's average achievement across Math and ELA is -0.0324 in elementary grades and -0.0828 in middle grades.
Atlanta Heights Charter School's impact on student achievement is indistinguishable from the state average in elementary grades, statistically lower than the state average in middle grades, and statistically lower than the district in elementary and middle grades.
Atlanta Heights Charter School's 2017/18 performance in elementary and middle grades is generally lower than its performance in 2015/16 and 2016/17.
The school's contribution to student achievement is: o indistinguisbale from the state average, but lower than the district average in elementary school ELA; o indistinguishable from the district and state average in elementary school Math; o indistinguishable from the district and state average in middle school ELA; and o lower than the district and state average in middle school Math.

General Characteristics

School Name

Calendar Year
Opened

EMO Affiliation

Grades

National

Atlanta Heights

2010

Heritage

K-8

Academies

Curriculum Focus None

School Year

SingleGender School

Virtual/ Online School

Serves Multiple Districts

Normal

No

No

No

Parental Involvement Requirement
Not Specified

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in
Atlanta Public Schools Zone

Atlanta Heights Charter School

30

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Students Served

School Name Atlanta Heights

Pct. Female Pct. White Pct. Black

51.0

0.1

96.2

Pct. Hispanic
2.4

Pct. Other Race
1.2

Pct. FRL 94.5

Pct. Direct Cert
70.0

Pct. LEP 2.2

Pct. SWD Pct. Gifted

10.0

0.0

Value-Added and SGP Results Summary by Grade Level and Subject
Overall School Effect: -0.0324 Elementary / -0.0828 Middle Average Overall School Effect in District: 0.0420 Elementary / 0.0398 Middle

Atlanta Heights's contribution to an elementary and middle school student's average achievement across ELA and Math is indistinguishable from and lower than the state average, respectively, and lower than its district. It is important to note that averaging achievement scores across subjects masks any variation in school performance between subject areas. As a result, the table below also includes the school's effect on student achievement in each subject area.

Grade Level and Subject
Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically District Rank District

Percentile Different from (lower is

Average

(higher is

State

better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

-0.0671 0.0238 -0.0324
0.0105 -0.1377 -0.0828

25 No 57 No 38 No
54 No 12 Lower 14 Lower

49 of 59 42 of 59 47 of 59
20 of 26 25 of 26 25 of 26

0.0172 0.0741 0.0420

Lower No Lower

0.0557 0.0505 0.0398

No Lower Lower

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

44

16

47 of 59

46

32

48 of 59

45

21

52 of 59

50

47

16 of 26

34

2

26 of 26

42

6

26 of 26

Atlanta Heights Charter School

31

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically District Rank District

Percentile Different from (lower is

Average

(higher is

State

better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

High 9th Grade Literature American Literature Algebra 1 Geometry All-Subject Average
Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts.

Comparison of 2017/18, 2016/17, and 2015/16 Value-Added and SGP Summary Results
Atlanta Heights' performance in elementary and middle grades has declined over the last three years. Performance in elementary ELA, elementary Math, middle school ELA, and middle school Math is lower than performance in the 2016/17 and 2015/16 school years.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

2015/16 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Value-Added (Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

School Effect

2016/17* Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

School Effect

2017/18 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average

-0.0657 No 0.1940 Higher 0.0145 No

0.0601 Lower 0.0270 Higher 0.0257 No

0.0068 No 0.1884 Higher 0.0980 Higher

0.0202 No 0.0836 Higher 0.0517 No

-0.0671 No 0.0238 No -0.0324 No

0.0172 Lower 0.0741 No 0.0420 Lower

Atlanta Heights Charter School

32

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

2015/16 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Value-Added (Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

School Effect

2016/17* Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

School Effect

2017/18 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Middle

ELA

0.1038 Higher

0.0352 No

0.0975 Higher

0.0423 No

0.0105 No

0.0557 No

Math

0.1963 Higher

-0.0090 Higher

0.0867 Higher

0.0364 No

-0.1377 Lower

0.0505 Lower

All-Subject Average 0.0489 No

-0.0165 Higher

0.0898 Higher

0.0380 No

-0.0828 Lower

0.0398 Lower

High

9th Grade Literature

American Literature

Algebra 1

Coordinate Algebra

Geometry

Analytic Geometry

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts. Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.
*For 2016/17 the school-level measure of "Direct Certification" employed in the value-added calculations differs from the measure employed in prior years. Direct Certification represents students who either live in a family unit receiving SNAP benefits, live in family unit receiving TANF benefits, are identified as homeless, are in foster care or are migrant. Due to data limitations, students in foster care were not included in the direct certification tally in 2016/17.

Atlanta Heights Charter School

33

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2015/16 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

Elementary

ELA

40

6 56 of 58

Math All-Subject Average

51

55 21 of 58

43

18 42 of 58

Middle

ELA

48

36 15 of 24

Math

56

82 3 of 24

All-Subject Average

49

50 5 of 24

High

9th Grade Literature American Literature

Algebra 1 Coordinate Algebra

Geometry

Analytic Geometry

Note: Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

Student Growth Percentiles (Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2016/17 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

50

49 20 of 58

55

72 18 of 58

53

64 19 of 58

53

77 3 of 22

49

43 12 of 22

51

56 7 of 22

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2017/18 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

44

16 47 of 59

46

32 48 of 59

45

21 52 of 59

50

47 16 of 26

34

2 26 of 26

42

6 26 of 26

Atlanta Heights Charter School

34

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Comparison of School Impact Subject Area: All-Subject Elementary Average State Charter: Atlanta Heights Comparison District: Atlanta Public Schools

Atlanta Heights Charter School

35

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Elementary ELA State Charter: Atlanta Heights Comparison District: Atlanta Public Schools

Atlanta Heights Charter School

36

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Elementary Mathematics State Charter: Atlanta Heights Comparison District: Atlanta Public Schools

Atlanta Heights Charter School

37

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: All-Subject Middle Average State Charter: Atlanta Heights Comparison District: Atlanta Public Schools

Atlanta Heights Charter School

38

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Middle ELA State Charter: Atlanta Heights Comparison District: Atlanta Public Schools

Atlanta Heights Charter School

39

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Middle Math State Charter: Atlanta Heights Comparison District: Atlanta Public Schools

Atlanta Heights Charter School

40

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Brookhaven Innovation Academy

Key Findings
The value-added estimate of the school's impact on a student's average achievement across Math and ELA is -0.0746 in elementary grades and 0.0200 in middle grades.
Brookhaven Innovation Academy's impact on student achievement is statistically below the state average in elementary grades and indsitnguishable from the state average in middle grades. Because the school serves students throughout the state, it does not have a district comparison group.
Brookhaven Innovation Academy's 2017/18 performance in elementary and middle grades is slightly higher than its performance in 2016/17.
The school's contribution to student achievement is: o below the state average in elementary Math; and o indistinguishable from the state average in elementary ELA, middle school Math, and middle school ELA.

General Characteristics

School Name

Calendar Year
Opened

EMO Affiliation

Grades

Brookhaven

Innovation

2016

No

K-6

Academy

Curriculum Focus
Compass Learning: cross-curricula, STEM-focused; project-based K-8 coding curriculum

School Year
Extended Day/Year

SingleGender School
No

Virtual/ Online School
No

Serves Multiple Districts
Yes

Parental Involvement Requirement
Not Specified

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in State of GA

Brookhaven Innovation Academy

41

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Students Served

School Name Brookhaven

Pct. Female 44.8

Pct. White 45.4

Pct. Black 24.4

Pct. Hispanic
17.7

Pct. Other Race
12.5

Pct. FRL 10.5

Pct. Direct Cert
5.8

Pct. LEP 10.4

Pct. SWD Pct. Gifted

10.3

0.0

Value-Added and SGP Results Summary by Grade Level and Subject Overall School Effect: -0.0746 Elementary / 0.0200 Middle

Brookhaven Innovation Academy's contribution to an elementary student's average achievement across ELA and Math is statistically below the average elementary school in the state, but its contribution to a middle school student's average achievement across ELA and Math is indistinguishable from the average middle school in the state. It is important to note that averaging achievement scores across subjects masks any variation in school performance between subject areas. As a result, the table below also includes the school's effect on student achievement in each subject area.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically District Rank District

Percentile Different from (lower is

Average

(higher is

State

better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math

-0.0717 -0.1102 -0.0746
0.0338 0.0063

24 No 21 Lower 23 Lower
66 No 51 No
Brookhaven Innovation Academy

46

24

47

38

47

29

49

40

52

58

42

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically District Rank District

Percentile Different from (lower is

Average

(higher is

State

better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

All-Subject Average

0.0200

60 No

50

53

High

9th Grade Literature

American Literature

Algebra 1

Geometry

All-Subject Average

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts.

Comparison of 2017/18, 2016/17, and 2015/16 Value-Added and SGP Summary Results
Brookhaven's performance in middle grades has improved over the last two years. Performance in middle school ELA, and middle school are now indistinguishable fom state averages whereas in 2016/17 performance was stasticallly below that of the average middle school in the state serving a comparable set of students.

Brookhaven Innovation Academy

43

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

2015/16 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Value-Added (Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

School Effect

2016/17* Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

School Effect

2017/18 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average
High 9th Grade Literature American Literature Algebra 1 Coordinate Algebra Geometry Analytic Geometry

-0.0849 -0.4218 -0.2535

No Lower Lower

-0.2142 Lower -0.2744 Lower -0.2517 Lower

-0.0717 -0.1102 -0.0746

No Lower Lower

0.0338 No 0.0063 No 0.0200 No

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts. Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district. *For 2016/17 the school-level measure of "Direct Certification" employed in the value-added calculations differs from the measure employed in prior years. Direct Certification represents students who either live in a family unit receiving SNAP benefits, live in family unit receiving TANF benefits, are identified as homeless, are in foster care or are migrant. Due to data limitations, students in foster care were not included in the direct certification tally in 2016/17.

Brookhaven Innovation Academy

44

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject
Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average High 9th Grade Literature American Literature Algebra 1 Coordinate Algebra Geometry Analytic Geometry

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2015/16 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

Note: Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

Student Growth Percentiles (Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2016/17 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

43

13

27

1

35

1

39

2

34

2

36

1

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2017/18 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

46

24

47

38

47

29

49

40

52

58

50

53

Brookhaven Innovation Academy

45

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Cherokee Charter Academy

Key Findings
The value-added estimate of the school's impact on a student's average achievement across Math and ELA is -0.1202 in elementary grades and -0.0042 in middle grades.
Cherokee Charter Academy's performance is not statistically different from state and district averages in middle school grades, but is below the state average and district average in elementary grades.
Cherokee Charter Academy's achievement in 2017/18 is generally similar to its performance in 2015/16 and 2016/17. The 2017/18 middle school Math improved relative to 2016/17, but the elementary ELA, elementary Math, and middle school ELA declined.
The school's contribution to student achievement is: o lower than the state average in elementary ELA and middle school Math, but indistinguishable from the district average; o below the state and district averages in elementary Math; and o indistinguishable from the state and district averages in middle school ELA.

General Characteristics

School Name

Calendar Year
Opened

EMO Affiliation

Grades

Cherokee Charter Academy

Charter

2011

Schools

K-8

USA

Curriculum Focus None

School Year

SingleGender School

Normal

No

Virtual/ Online School
No

Serves Multiple Districts
No

Parental Involvement Requirement
20 hours volunteer/year for one child, 30 hours/year for more than one
child

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in Cherokee County Public Schools Zone

Students Served

School Name Cherokee

Pct. Female Pct. White Pct. Black

49.6

68.0

16.5

Pct. Hispanic
13.3

Pct. Other Race
2.2

Pct. FRL 14.4

Pct. Direct Cert
13.9

Cherokee Charter Academy

Pct. LEP 8.6

Pct. SWD 14.0

Pct. Gifted 4.5 46

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Value-Added and SGP Results Summary by Grade Level and Subject
Overall School Effect: -0.1202 Elementary / -0.0042 Middle Average Overall School Effect in District: -0.0349 Elementary / -0.0471 Middle

Cherokee Charter Academy's contribution to an elementary student's average achievement across Math and ELA is lower than that of the average elementary school in the state and district. Its contribution to a middle school student's cross-subject average achievement is not statistically different from the average middle school in the state and district. It is important to note that averaging achievement scores across subjects masks any variation in school performance between subject areas. As a result, the table below also includes the school's effect on student achievement in each subject area.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State Percentile Statistically

District

District

Statistically

(higher is

Different from

Rank

Average Different from

better)

State Average? (lower is

District

better)

Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean of

State

District

Individual SGPs

Percentile

Rank

(higher is

(lower is

better)

better)

Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average
High 9th Grade Literature American Literature

-0.0910 -0.1528 -0.1202
0.0560 -0.0820 -0.0042

17 Lower 13 Lower 10 Lower
75 No 25 Lower 49 No

17 of 25 21 of 25 21 of 25

-0.0718 -0.0045 -0.0349

No Lower Lower

1 of 8 4 of 8 1 of 8

-0.0152 No -0.0799 No -0.0471 No

Cherokee Charter Academy

49

45 12 of 25

46

32 23 of 25

48

34 19 of 25

57

90

1 of 8

51

53

3 of 8

52

66

2 of 8

47

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State Percentile Statistically

District

District

Statistically

(higher is

Different from

Rank

Average Different from

better)

State Average? (lower is

District

better)

Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean of

State

District

Individual SGPs

Percentile

Rank

(higher is

(lower is

better)

better)

Algebra 1 Geometry All-Subject Average
Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts.

48 Cherokee Charter Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Comparison of 2017/18, 2016/17, and 2015/16 Value-Added and SGP Summary Results
Cherokee Charter Academy's overall performance in elementary grades has been relatively constant over time. However, the 2017/18 middle school ELA performance declined relative to 2016/17.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

2015/16 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Value-Added (Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

School Effect

2016/17* Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

School Effect

2017/18 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Elementary

ELA

0.0021 No

-0.0189 No

-0.0756 Lower

-0.0354 No

-0.0910 Lower

-0.0718 No

Math

-0.0826 Lower

0.0354 Lower

-0.0480 No

0.0509 Lower

-0.1528 Lower

-0.0045 Lower

All-Subject Average -0.0009 No

0.0189 No

-0.0602 Lower

0.0080 Lower

-0.1202 Lower

-0.0349 Lower

Middle

ELA

-0.0969 Lower

0.0439 Lower

0.1154 Higher

0.0066 Higher

0.0560 No

-0.0152 No

Math

-0.2120 Lower

-0.0093 Lower

-0.0953 Lower

-0.0528 No

-0.0820 Lower

-0.0799 No

All-Subject Average -0.1008 Lower

0.0049 Lower

0.0016 No

-0.0253 No

-0.0042 No

-0.0471 No

High

9th Grade Literature

American Literature

Algebra 1

Coordinate Algebra

Geometry

Analytic Geometry

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts. Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

49

Cherokee Charter Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

*For 2016/17 the school-level measure of "Direct Certification" employed in the value-added calculations differs from the measure employed in prior years. Direct Certification represents students who either live in a family unit receiving SNAP benefits, live in family unit receiving TANF benefits, are identified as homeless, are in foster care or are migrant. Due to data limitations, students in foster care were not included in the direct certification tally in 2016/17.

Grade Level and Subject

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2015/16 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

Elementary

ELA

53

72 10 of 25

Math

50

51 22 of 25

All-Subject Average

53

67 17 of 25

Middle

ELA

45

22 12 of 12

Math

47

40 12 of 12

All-Subject Average

48

42 11 of 12

High

9th Grade Literature

American Literature

Algebra 1

Coordinate Algebra

Geometry

Analytic Geometry

Note: Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

Student Growth Percentiles (Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2016/17 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

48

34 22 of 25

47

37 23 of 25

47

33 23 of 25

58

94 2 of 8

51

57 5 of 8

54

78 3 of 8

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2017/18 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

49

45 12 of 25

46

32 23 of 25

48

34 19 of 25

57

90 1 of 8

51

53 3 of 8

52

66 2 of 8

50 Cherokee Charter Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Comparison of School Impact Subject Area: All-Subject Elementary Average State Charter: Cherokee Charter Academy Comparison District: Cherokee County Schools
51 Cherokee Charter Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Elementary ELA State Charter: Cherokee Charter Academy Comparison District: Cherokee County Schools
52 Cherokee Charter Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Elementary Mathematics State Charter: Cherokee Charter Academy Comparison District: Cherokee County Schools
53 Cherokee Charter Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: All-Subject Middle Average State Charter: Cherokee Charter Academy Comparison District: Cherokee County Schools
54 Cherokee Charter Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Middle ELA State Charter: Cherokee Charter Academy Comparison District: Cherokee County Schools
55 Cherokee Charter Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Middle Mathematics State Charter: Cherokee Charter Academy Comparison District: Cherokee County Schools
56 Cherokee Charter Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Cirrus Academy Charter

Key Findings
The value-added estimate of the school's impact on a student's average achievement across Math and ELA is -0.1465 in elementary grades and -0.1263 in middle grades.
Cirrus Academy Charter's performance is statistically below the state average in elementary and middle grades. Because the school serves students throughout the state, it does not have a district comparison group.
Cirrus Academy Charter's performance in elementary grades remained lower than the state average in both 2016/17 and 2017/18. In 2017/18, its relative performance in middle grades was lower than its performance in 2016/17.
The school's contribution to student achievement is: o below the state average in elementary Math and ELA and middle Math and ELA.

General Characteristics

School Name

Calendar Year
Opened

EMO Affiliation

Grades

Cirrus Academy Charter

2016

No

K-8

Curriculum Focus STEM + Arts

School Year

SingleGender School

Virtual/ Online School

Serves Multiple Districts

Normal

No

No

Yes

Parental Involvement Requirement
Not Specified

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in State of GA

Students Served

School Name Cirrus

Pct. Female Pct. White Pct. Black

54.1

2.9

94.8

Pct. Hispanic
0.5

Pct. Other Race
1.8

Pct. FRL 100.0

Pct. Direct Cert
66.9

Pct. LEP 0.2

Pct. SWD Pct. Gifted

5.4

0.0

57 Cirrus Academy Charter

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Value-Added and SGP Results Summary by Grade Level and Subject Overall School Effect: -0.1465 Elementary / -0.1263 Middle

Cirrus Academy Charter's contribution to an elementary and middle school student's average achievement across ELA and Math is statistically below the average elementary and middle school in the state. It is important to note that averaging achievement scores across subjects masks any variation in school performance between subject areas. As a result, the table below also includes the school's effect on student achievement in each subject area.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically

District

District

Percentile Different from Rank (lower Average

(higher is

State

is better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average
High 9th Grade Literature American Literature Algebra 1 Geometry

-0.2185 -0.1403 -0.1465
-0.1292 -0.1251 -0.1263

2 Lower 15 Lower 6 Lower 6 Lower 14 Lower 7 Lower
Cirrus Academy Charter

45

20

37

6

41

7

42

5

41

12

41

6

58

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically

District

District

Percentile Different from Rank (lower Average

(higher is

State

is better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

All-Subject Average
Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts. Schools with a statewide attendance zone are compared to the state average and, thus, have no comparison district.

Comparison of 2017/18, 2016/17, and 2015/16 Value-Added and SGP Summary Results Cirrus Academy Charter's performance in elementary grades, but performamnce in middle grades declined.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

2015/16 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Value-Added (Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

School Effect

2016/17* Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

School Effect

2017/18 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average

-0.2369 Lower -0.4479 Lower -0.3420 Lower
-0.0599 No -0.0292 No -0.0574 No

-0.2185 Lower -0.1403 Lower -0.1465 Lower
-0.1292 Lower -0.1251 Lower -0.1263 Lower
59

Cirrus Academy Charter

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

2015/16 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Value-Added (Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

School Effect

2016/17* Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

School Effect

2017/18 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

High
9th Grade Literature
American Literature
Algebra 1
Coordinate Algebra
Geometry
Analytic Geometry
Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts. Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district. *For 2016/17 the school-level measure of "Direct Certification" employed in the value-added calculations differs from the measure employed in prior years. Direct Certification represents students who either live in a family unit receiving SNAP benefits, live in family unit receiving TANF benefits, are identified as homeless, are in foster care or are migrant. Due to data limitations, students in foster care were not included in the direct certification tally in 2016/17.

Grade Level and Subject
Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2015/16 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

Student Growth Percentiles (Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2016/17 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

37

2

18

1

27

1

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2017/18 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

45

20

37

6

41

7

60

Cirrus Academy Charter

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2015/16 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average High 9th Grade Literature American Literature Algebra 1 Coordinate Algebra Geometry Analytic Geometry Note: Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

Student Growth Percentiles (Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2016/17 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

46

20

46

30

46

23

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2017/18 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

42

5

41

12

41

6

61 Cirrus Academy Charter

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Coastal Plains Education Charter High School

Key Findings
The value-added estimate of the school's impact on a student's average achievement across Math and ELA courses is 0.0111 in high school.
Coastal Plains Education Charter's performance is indistinguishable from the state average in high school. Because the school serves students throughout the state, it does not have a district comparison group.
Coastal Plains Education Charter's first year in operation is 2017/18, so it is not possible to make year-to-year performance assessments. The school's contribution to student achievement cannot be determined for individual EOC exams because there were less than 15 test-
takers in any single subject.

General Characteristics

School Name
Coastal Plains Education Charter

Calendar Year
Opened

EMO Affiliation

2017

No

Grades 9-12

Curriculum Focus
Self-paced, individualized, evening high school for students struggling at other
schools

School Year Year-round

SingleGender School
No

Virtual/ Online School
No

Serves Multiple Districts
Yes

Parental Involvement Requirement
Not specified

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in State of GA

Students Served

School Name Coastal Plains

Pct. Female Pct. White Pct. Black

48.4

55.1

34.1

Pct. Hispanic
8.3

Pct. Other Race
2.4

Pct. FRL 47.1

Pct. Direct Cert
36.6

Pct. LEP 1.7

Pct. SWD Pct. Gifted

13.7

1.4

62 Coastal Plains Education Charter High School

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Value-Added and SGP Results Summary by Grade Level and Subject Overall School Effect: 0.0111 High

Coastal Plains Education Charter's contribution to a high school student's average achievement across ELA and Math is indistinguishable from the average high school in the state. It is important to note that averaging achievement scores across subjects masks any variation in school performance between subject areas. As a result, the table below also includes the school's effect on student achievement in each subject area. However, specific subject area school effects are not reported because in each individual subject, less than 15 students took the exam. The overall subject average can be calculated because in total more than 15 students took an exam that contributes to this score.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically District Rank District

Percentile Different from (lower is

Average

(higher is

State

better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average
High 9th Grade Literature 63
Coastal Plains Education Charter High School

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically District Rank District

Percentile Different from (lower is

Average

(higher is

State

better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

American Literature

Algebra 1

Geometry All-Subject Average

0.0111

56 No

45

19

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts.

Comparison of 2017/18, 2016/17, and 2015/16 Value-Added and SGP Summary Results Coastal Plains Education Charter's first year in operation is 2017/18, so it is not possible to make year-to-year performance assessments.

64 Coastal Plains Education Charter High School

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Coweta Charter Academy

Key Findings
The value-added estimate of the school's impact on student achievement across Math and ELA is 0.1067 in elementary grades and -0.0179 in middle grades.
Coweta Charter Academy's performance is higher than the state and district average elementary school, but indistinguishable from the state and district average middle school.
Coweta Charter Academy's performance in elementary and middle grades in 2017/18 is similar to its performance in 2016/17. The school's contribution to student achievement is:
o higher than the state and district average in elementary Math and ELA; o below the state and district average in middle school Math; and o indistinguishable from the state and district averages in middle school ELA.

General Characteristics

School Name

Calendar Year
Opened

EMO Affiliation

Grades

Coweta Charter Academy

2010

Charter Schools
USA

K-8

Curriculum Focus None

School Year

SingleGender School

Normal

No

Virtual/ Online School
No

Serves Multiple Districts
No

Parental Involvement Requirement
20 hours volunteer/year for
one child, 30 hours/year for more than one
child

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in Coweta County Public Schools
Zone

Students Served

School Name Coweta

Pct. Female Pct. White Pct. Black

51.6

71.8

15.9

Pct. Hispanic
6.3

Pct. Other Race
6.0

Pct. FRL 11.3

Pct. Direct Cert
12.4

Pct. LEP 0.3

Pct. SWD Pct. Gifted

10.9

13.9

65 Coweta Charter Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Value-Added and SGP Results Summary by Grade Level and Subject
Overall School Effect: 0.1067 Elementary / -0.0179 Middle Average Overall School Effect in District: -0.0018 Elementary / 0.0313 Middle
Coweta Charter Academy's contribution to an elementary student's average achievement across ELA and Math is higher than the average elementary school in the district and state. Coweta Charter Academy's contribution to student achievement averaged across two middle school subjects is indistinguishable from both the average middle school in the state and the average middle school in the district. It is important to note that averaging achievement scores across subjects masks any variation in school performance between subject areas. As a result, the table below also includes the school's effect on student achievement in each subject area.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically District Rank District

Percentile Different from (lower is

Average

(higher is

State

better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average
High 9th Grade Literature American Literature Algebra 1

0.0902 0.1131 0.1067
-0.0334 -0.0970 -0.0179

81 Higher 79 Higher 86 Higher
32 No 19 Lower 42 No

2 of 21 4 of 21 4 of 21
6 of 8 8 of 8 8 of 8

-0.0323 -0.0148 -0.0081

Higher Higher Higher

-0.0006 0.0100 0.0313

No Lower No

Coweta Charter Academy

57

89

2 of 21

59

86

7 of 21

58

92

4 of 21

50

51

8 of 8

52

57

7 of 8

51

59

8 of 8

66

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically District Rank District

Percentile Different from (lower is

Average

(higher is

State

better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

Geometry All-Subject Average
Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts.

67 Coweta Charter Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Comparison of 2017/18, 2016/17, and 2015/16 Value-Added and SGP Summary Results
Coweta Charter Academy's performance in elementary grades in 2017/18 is generally improved relative to performance in 2015/16, but similar to performance in 2016/17. In middle school grades, the performance in 2015/16, 2016/17, and 2017/18 has been similar.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

2015/16 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Value-Added (Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

School Effect

2016/17* Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

School Effect

2017/18 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Elementary

ELA

-0.0512 No

-0.1095 No

0.1880 Higher

0.0269 Higher

0.0902 Higher

-0.0323 Higher

Math

0.0035 No

-0.0390 No

0.1385 Higher

-0.0298 Higher

0.1131 Higher

-0.0148 Higher

All-Subject Average -0.0648 Lower

-0.0683 No

0.1592 Higher

-0.0019 Higher

0.1067 Higher

-0.0081 Higher

Middle

ELA

0.0553 No

-0.0045 No

0.0310 No

0.0127 No

-0.0334 No

-0.0006 No

Math

-0.1312 Lower

0.0093 Lower

-0.2521 Lower

0.0098 Lower

-0.0970 Lower

0.0100 Lower

All-Subject Average -0.0921 Lower

-0.0209 Lower

-0.1071 Lower

0.0171 Lower

-0.0179 No

0.0313 No

High

9th Grade Literature

American Literature

Algebra 1

Coordinate Algebra

Geometry

Analytic Geometry

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts. Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

68 Coweta Charter Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

*For 2016/17 the school-level measure of "Direct Certification" employed in the value-added calculations differs from the measure employed in prior years. Direct Certification represents students who either live in a family unit receiving SNAP benefits, live in family unit receiving TANF benefits, are identified as homeless, are in foster care or are migrant. Due to data limitations, students in foster care were not included in the direct certification tally in 2016/17.

Grade Level and Subject

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2015/16 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

Elementary

ELA

47

33 9 of 21

Math

52

58 8 of 21

All-Subject Average

48

40 12 of 21

Middle

ELA

50

52 5 of 8

Math

47

40 8 of 8

All-Subject Average

46

27 8 of 8

High

9th Grade Literature

American Literature

Algebra 1

Coordinate Algebra

Geometry

Analytic Geometry

Note: Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

Student Growth Percentiles (Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2016/17 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

64

98 2 of 21

59

88 4 of 21

61

97 2 of 21

55

86 3 of 8

45

24 8 of 8

50

49 8 of 8

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2017/18 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

57

89 2 of 21

59

86 7 of 21

58

92 4 of 21

50

51 8 of 8

52

57 7 of 8

51

59 8 of 8

69 Coweta Charter Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Comparison of School Impact Subject Area: All-Subject Elementary Average State Charter: Coweta Charter Academy Comparison District: Coweta County Public Schools
70 Coweta Charter Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Elementary ELA State Charter: Coweta Charter Academy Comparison District: Coweta County Public Schools

Coweta Charter Academy

71

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Elementary Mathematics State Charter: Coweta Charter Academy Comparison District: Coweta County Public Schools

Coweta Charter Academy

72

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: All-Subject Middle Average State Charter: Coweta Charter Academy Comparison District: Coweta County Public Schools

Coweta Charter Academy

73

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Middle ELA State Charter: Coweta Charter Academy Comparison District: Coweta County Public Schools

Coweta Charter Academy

74

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Middle Mathematics State Charter: Coweta Charter Academy Comparison District: Coweta County Public Schools

Coweta Charter Academy

75

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

DuBois Integrity Academy

Key Findings
The value-added estimate of the school's impact on a student's average achievement across Math and ELA is 0.1551 in elementary grades.
DuBois Integrity Academy's performance is above the state and district averages in elementary grades. DuBois Integrity Academy's performance in elementary ELA and Math in 2017/18 is similar to performance in 2016/17. In elementary
Math, the school effect increased from 2016/17 to 2017/18. The school's contribution to student achievement in 2017/18 is:
o above the state and district average in elementary ELA and Math.

General Characteristics

School Name

Calendar Year
Opened

EMO Affiliation

Grades

Curriculum Focus

School Year

SingleGender School

DuBois Integrity Academy

2015

No

GA Common core

K-5 standards with STEM Normal

No

and Arts integration

Virtual/ Online School
No

Serves Multiple Districts
No

Parental Involvement Requirement
30 volunteer hours/year

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in
Clayton County Public Schools Zone

Students Served

School Name DuBois

Pct. Female Pct. White Pct. Black

49.5

0.3

98.1

Pct. Hispanic
0.4

Pct. Other Race
1.2

Pct. FRL 100.0

Pct. Direct Cert
48.6

Pct. LEP 2.7

Pct. SWD Pct. Gifted

15.0

1.9

76 DuBois Integrity Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Value-Added and SGP Results Summary by Grade Level and Subject
Overall School Effect: 0.1551 Elementary Average Overall School Effect in District: -0.0216 Elementary

DuBois Integrity Academy's contribution to an elementary student's average achievement across ELA and Math is above that of the average elementary school in the state and district. It is important to note that averaging achievement scores across subjects masks any variation in school performance between subject areas. As a result, the table below also includes the school's effect on student achievement in each subject area.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically

District

District

Statistically

Percentile Different from Rank (lower Average Different from

(higher is

State

is better)

District

better)

Average?

Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile (lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average
High 9th Grade Literature American Literature Algebra 1 Geometry

0.1309 0.1674 0.1551

89 Higher 88 Higher 92 Higher

4 of 36 2 of 36 2 of 36

-0.0035 -0.0422 -0.0216

Higher Higher Higher

DuBois Integrity Academy

57

89

6 of 36

58

84

6 of 36

58

91

3 of 36

77

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically

District

District

Statistically

Percentile Different from Rank (lower Average Different from

(higher is

State

is better)

District

better)

Average?

Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile (lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

All-Subject Average

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts.
Comparison of 2017/18, 2016/17, and 2015/16 Value-Added and SGP Summary Results DuBois Integrity Academy's performance in elementary ELA and Math in 2017/18 is similar to performance in 2016/17.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

2015/16 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Value-Added (Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

School Effect

2016/17* Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

School Effect

2017/18 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math

0.0432 No -0.2554 Lower -0.2452 Lower

0.0211 No -0.0321 Lower 0.0041 Lower

0.2346 Higher 0.1187 Higher 0.1768 Higher

0.0850 Higher 0.0668 No 0.0763 Higher

0.1309 Higher 0.1674 Higher 0.1551 Higher

-0.0035 Higher -0.0422 Higher -0.0216 Higher

DuBois Integrity Academy

78

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

All-Subject Average High
9th Grade Literature American Literature Algebra
Coordinate Algebra Geometry Analytic Geometry
Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts. Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district. *For 2016/17 the school-level measure of "Direct Certification" employed in the value-added calculations differs from the measure employed in prior years. Direct Certification represents students who either live in a family unit receiving SNAP benefits, live in family unit receiving TANF benefits, are identified as homeless, are in foster care or are migrant. Due to data limitations, students in foster care were not included in the direct certification tally in 2016/17.

Grade Level and Subject
Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average Middle ELA Math

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2015/16 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

Student Growth Percentiles (Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2016/17 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2017/18 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

46

30 25 of 36

26

1 36 of 36

30

1 36 of 36

59

93 2 of 36

56

74 16 of 36

57

89 5 of 36

57

89 6 of 36

58

84 6 of 36

58

91 3 of 36

DuBois Integrity Academy

79

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2015/16 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

All-Subject Average High 9th Grade Literature American Literature Algebra 1 Coordinate Algebra Geometry Analytic Geometry Note: Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

Student Growth Percentiles (Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2016/17 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2017/18 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

DuBois Integrity Academy

80

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Comparison of School Impact Subject Area: All-Subject Elementary Average State Charter: DuBois Integrity Academy Comparison District: Clayton County
81 DuBois Integrity Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Elementary ELA State Charter: DuBois Integrity Academy Comparison District: Clayton County

DuBois Integrity Academy

82

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Elementary Mathematics State Charter: DuBois Integrity Academy Comparison District: Clayton County

DuBois Integrity Academy

83

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Foothills Education Charter High School

Key Findings
The value-added estimate of Foothills Education Charter High School's impact on a student's achievement in Math and ELA courses is 0.2935 in high school grades.
The school's performance is higher than the state in each of the tested Math and ELA courses. Because the school serves students throughout the state, it does not have a district comparison group.
Foothills Education Charter High School's performance in 2017/18 overall has increased compared to the 2015/16 and 2016/17 school years. American Literature has increased from 2016/17 to 2017/18, and 9th grade literature has decreased slightly from the 2015/16 school year, but was not reported in the 2016/17 school year.
The school's contribution to student achievement is: o above the state average in 9th grade literature and American Literature.

General Characteristics

School Name
Foothills Education Charter High
School

Calendar Year
Opened
2015

EMO Affiliation
No

Grades 9-12

Curriculum Focus
Self-paced, individualized, evening high school for students struggling at other
schools

School Year Year-round

SingleGender School
No

Virtual/ Online School
No

Serves Multiple Districts
Yes

Parental Involvement Requirement
Not Specified

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in State of GA

Students Served

School Name Foothills

Pct. Female Pct. White Pct. Black

44.5

54.5

31.7

Pct. Hispanic
10.0

Pct. Other Race
3.7

Pct. FRL 61.5

Pct. Direct Cert
29.3

Pct. LEP 1.5

Pct. SWD Pct. Gifted

15.5

2.4

84 Foothills Education Charter High School

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Value-Added and SGP Results Summary by Grade Level and Subject Overall School Effect: 0.2935 High

Foothills Education Charter High School's contribution to a high school student's achievement in Math and ELA is higher than the average high school in the state.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically

District

District

Percentile Different from Rank (lower Average

(higher is

State

is better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

Elementary

ELA

Math All-Subject Average

Middle

ELA

Math

All-Subject Average High

9th Grade Literature American Literature

0.2508 0.2270

97 Higher 96 Higher

61

95

53

70

Algebra 1 Geometry

All-Subject Average

0.2935

98 Higher

58

94

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts. Schools with a statewide attendance zone are compared to the state average and, thus, have no comparison district.

Foothills Education Charter High School

85

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Comparison of 2017/18, 2016/17, and 2015/16 Value-Added and SGP Summary Results
Foothills Education Charter High School's performance in 2017/18 overall has improved compared to the 2015/16 and 2016/17 school years. Performance in American Literature has increased since 2015/16 and has remained above the state average in 9th grade literature.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

2015/16 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Value-Added (Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

School Effect

2016/17* Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

School Effect

2017/18 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Elementary

ELA

Math

All-Subject Average

Middle

ELA

Math

All-Subject Average

High

9th Grade Literature 0.3999 Higher

0.2508 Higher

American Literature 0.1218 No

0.0545 No

0.2270 Higher

Algebra 1

Coordinate Algebra

Geometry

Analytic Geometry

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts. Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

*For 2016/17 the school-level measure of "Direct Certification" employed in the value-added calculations differs from the measure employed in prior years. Direct Certification represents students

Foothills Education Charter High School

86

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

who either live in a family unit receiving SNAP benefits, live in family unit receiving TANF benefits, are identified as homeless, are in foster care or are migrant. Due to data limitations, students in foster care were not included in the direct certification tally in 2016/17.

Grade Level and Subject

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2015/16 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

Elementary

ELA

Math

All-Subject Average

Middle

ELA

Math

All-Subject Average

High

9th Grade Literature

63

98

American Literature

37

10

Algebra 1

Coordinate Algebra

Geometry

Analytic Geometry

Note: Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

Student Growth Percentiles (Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2016/17 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

42

15

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2017/18 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

61

95

53

70

Foothills Education Charter High School

87

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Fulton Leadership Academy

Key Findings
The value-added estimate of Fulton Leadership Academy's impact on a student's average achievement across Math and ELA is 0.0335 in middle school and 0.0270 in high school grades.
Fulton Leadership Academy's performance is not statistically different from the state or district averages for middle school ELA, middle school Math, and 9th Grade Literature. The school's contribution to student achievement is indistinguishable from the state and higher than the district for American Literature.
Fulton Leadership Academy's performance in 2017/18 is generally consistent with its performance in 2015/16 and 2016/17. The school's contribution to student achievement is:
o indistinguishable from the state and higher than the district average in American Literature; and o indistinguishable from the state and district average in middle school ELA and Math, as well as 9th Grade Literature.

General Characteristics

School Name
Fulton Leadership Academy

Calendar Year
Opened
2010

EMO Affiliation
No

Grades 6-12

Curriculum Focus School Year

STEM with focus on aviation and aeronautics -
partnership with Civil Air Patrol

Normal

SingleGender School
Boys Only

Virtual/ Online School
No

Serves Multiple Districts
No

Parental Involvement Requirement
20 volunteer hours/year

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in
Fulton County Public Schools Zone

Students Served

School Name Fulton Leadership

Pct. Female Pct. White Pct. Black

0.0

0.0

97.4

Pct. Hispanic
2.0

Pct. Other Race
0.6

Pct. FRL 87.3

Pct. Direct Cert
32.2

Pct. LEP 0.0

Pct. SWD Pct. Gifted

15.9

10.1

88 Fulton Leadership Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Value-Added and SGP Results Summary by Grade Level and Subject
Overall School Effect: 0.0335 Middle/ 0.0270 High Average Overall School Effect in District: -0.0223 Middle/ 0.0267 High

Fulton Leadership Academy's contribution to a middle and high school student's cross-subject average achievement is indistinguishable from that of the average middle and high school in the state and district. It is important to note that averaging achievement scores across subjects masks any variation in school performance between subject areas. As a result, the table below also includes the school's effect on student achievement in each subject area.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically

District

District

Percentile Different from Rank (lower Average

(higher is

State

is better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average
High 9th Grade Literature American Literature Algebra 1 Geometry

0.0288 0.0112 0.0335
0.1325 0.2087

63 No 52 No 65 No
86 No 95 No

6 of 27 8 of 27 5 of 27
4 of 18 1 of 19

-0.0143 No -0.0428 No -0.0223 No
0.0589 No -0.0104 Higher

Fulton Leadership Academy

48

30

17 of 27

52

61

11 of 27

50

48

12 of 27

50

48

14 of 18

34

98

1 of 19

89

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically

District

District

Percentile Different from Rank (lower Average

(higher is

State

is better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

All-Subject Average

0.0270

63 No

10 of 20

0.0267 No

47

32

17 of 20

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts.

Fulton Leadership Academy

90

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Comparison of 2017/18, 2016/17, and 2015/16 Value-Added and SGP Summary Results Fulton Leadership Academy's performance in 2017/18 is consistent with its performance in 2015/16 and 2016/17.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

2015/16 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Value-Added (Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

School Effect

2016/17* Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

School Effect

2017/18 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Elementary

ELA

Math

All-Subject Average

Middle

ELA

-0.0323 No

0.0040 No

0.0315 No

-0.0084 No

0.0288 No

-0.0143 No

Math

-0.0212 No

-0.0960 Higher

-0.0226 No

-0.0511 No

0.0112 No

-0.0428 No

All-Subject Average 0.0039 No

-0.0497 Higher

-0.0086 No

-0.0286 No

0.0335 No

-0.0223 No

High

9th Grade Literature 0.0208 No

0.0172 No

-0.0883 No

0.0344 No

0.1325 No

0.0589 No

American Literature -0.0711 No

0.0090 No

0.2087 No

-0.0104 Higher

Algebra 1

0.1094 No

0.0367 No

0.0235 No

0.0655 No

Coordinate Algebra

Geometry

0.0639 No

0.0570 No

Analytic Geometry 0.0617 No

0.0617 No

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts. Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

*For 2016/17 the school-level measure of "Direct Certification" employed in the value-added calculations differs from the measure employed in prior years. Direct Certification represents students who either live in a family unit receiving SNAP benefits, live in family unit receiving TANF benefits, are identified as homeless, are in foster care or are migrant. Due to data limitations, students in foster care were not included in the direct certification tally in 2016/17.

Fulton Leadership Academy

91

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2015/16 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

Elementary

ELA

Math All-Subject Average

Middle

ELA

39

4 25 of 26

Math

42

21 14 of 26

All-Subject Average

46

27 18 of 26

High

9th Grade Literature American Literature

40

10 16 of 18

47

41 12 of 19

Algebra 1 Coordinate Algebra

44

34 14 of 18

Geometry

Analytic Geometry

50

55 1 of 1

Note: Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

Student Growth Percentiles (Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2016/17 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

47

26 18 of 27

48

39 10 of 27

47

33 14 of 27

47

31 13 of 17

47

35 12 of 18

49

47 13 of 19

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2017/18 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

48

30 17 of 27

52

61 11 of 27

50

48 12 of 27

50

48 14 of 18

65

98 1 of 19

Fulton Leadership Academy

92

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Comparison of School Impact Subject Area: All-Subject Middle Average State Charter: Fulton Leadership Academy Comparison District: Fulton County Public Schools
93 Fulton Leadership Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Middle ELA State Charter: Fulton Leadership Academy Comparison District: Fulton County Public Schools

Fulton Leadership Academy

94

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: Middle Mathematics State Charter: Fulton Leadership Academy Comparison District: Fulton County Public Schools

Fulton Leadership Academy

95

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: 9th Grade Literature State Charter: Fulton Leadership Academy Comparison District: Fulton County Public Schools

Fulton Leadership Academy

96

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: American Literature State Charter: Fulton Leadership Academy Comparison District: Fulton County Public Schools

Fulton Leadership Academy

97

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18
Subject Area: All-Subject High Average State Charter: Fulton Leadership Academy Comparison District: Fulton County Public Schools

Fulton Leadership Academy

98

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Genesis Academy for Boys

Key Findings
The value-added estimate of the school's impact on a student's average achievement across Math and ELA is -0.0669 in elementary grades and 0.0014 in middle grades.
Genesis Academy for Boys' performance is indistinguishable from the state average in elementary and middle grades. Because the school serves students throughout the state, it does not have a district comparison group.
Genesis Academy for Boys' performance for high school cannot be determined because there were not enough test takers. Genesis Academy for Boys' first year in operation is 2017/18, so it is not possible to make year-to-year performance assessments. The school's contribution to student achievement is:
o indistinguishable from the state averages in elementary and middle school Math and ELA.

General Characteristics

School Name
Genesis Academy for
Boys

Calendar Year
Opened
2017

EMO Affiliation
No

Grades K-10

Curriculum Focus College preparatory

School Year
Extended Day/Week/
Year

SingleGender School
Boys Only

Virtual/ Online School
No

Serves Multiple Districts
Yes

Parental Involvement Requirement
Not specified

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in State of GA

Students Served

School Name Genesis - Boys

Pct. Female Pct. White Pct. Black

0.0

3.6

87.5

Pct. Hispanic
8.0

Pct. Other Race
0.9

Pct. FRL 45.1

Pct. Direct Cert
33.3

Pct. LEP 7.2

Pct. SWD Pct. Gifted

4.9

5.4

99 Genesis Academy for Boys

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Value-Added and SGP Results Summary by Grade Level and Subject Overall School Effect: -0.0669 Elementary / 0.0014 Middle

Genesis Academy for Boys' contribution to an elementary and middle school student's average achievement across ELA and Math is not statistically different from the average elementary and middle school in the state. Genesis Academy for Boys' performance for high school cannot be determined because there were not enough test takers. It is important to note that averaging achievement scores across subjects masks any variation in school performance between subject areas. As a result, the table below also includes the school's effect on student achievement in each subject area.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically

District

District

Percentile Different from Rank (lower Average

(higher is

State

is better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average
High 9th Grade Literature American Literature Algebra 1 Geometry

-0.0857 -0.0768 -0.0669
-0.0743 0.0435 0.0014

19 No 31 No 25 No
19 No 66 No 52 No

42

9

42

17

42

10

47

25

55

74

51

57

Genesis Academy for Boys

100

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically

District

District

Percentile Different from Rank (lower Average

(higher is

State

is better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

All-Subject Average Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts.
Comparison of 2017/18, 2016/17, and 2015/16 Value-Added and SGP Summary Results Genesis Academy for Boys' first year in operation is 2017/18, so it is not possible to make year-to-year performance assessments.

Genesis Academy for Boys

101

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Genesis Academy for Girls

Key Findings
The value-added estimate of the school's impact on a student's average achievement across Math and ELA is -0.1687 in elementary grades and -0.1912 in middle grades.
Genesis Academy for Girls' performance is statistically below the state average in elementary and middle grades. Because the school serves students throughout the state, it does not have a district comparison group.
Genesis Academy for Girls' performance for high school cannot be determined because there were not enough test takers. Genesis Academy for Girls' first year in operation is 2017/18, so it is not possible to make year-to-year performance assessments. The school's contribution to student achievement is:
o below the state averages in elementary and middle school Math; and o indistinguishable from the state averages in elementary and middle school ELA.

General Characteristics

School Name
Genesis Academy for
Girls

Calendar Year
Opened
2017

EMO Affiliation
No

Grades K-10

Curriculum Focus College preparatory

School Year
Extended Day/Week/
Year

SingleGender School
Girls Only

Virtual/ Online School
No

Serves Multiple Districts
Yes

Parental Involvement Requirement
Not specified

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in State of GA

Students Served

School Name Genesis - Girls

Pct. Female Pct. White Pct. Black

100.0

2.7

93.5

Pct. Hispanic
3.8

Pct. Other Race
0.0

Pct. FRL 53.0

Pct. Direct Cert
34.9

Pct. LEP 3.2

Pct. SWD Pct. Gifted

2.7

2.7

102 Genesis Academy for Girls

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Value-Added and SGP Results Summary by Grade Level and Subject Overall School Effect: -0.1687 Elementary / -0.1912 Middle

Genesis Academy for Girls' contribution to an elementary and middle school student's average achievement across ELA and Math is statistically below the average elementary and middle school in the state. Genesis Academy for Girls' performance for high school cannot be determined because there were not enough test takers. It is important to note that averaging achievement scores across subjects masks any variation in school performance between subject areas. As a result, the table below also includes the school's effect on student achievement in each subject area.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically

District

District

Percentile Different from Rank (lower Average

(higher is

State

is better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average
High 9th Grade Literature American Literature Algebra 1 Geometry

-0.1566 -0.1735 -0.1687
-0.0651 -0.2384 -0.1912

6 No 10 Lower 4 Lower
21 No 4 Lower 2 Lower

36

1

32

2

34

1

40

3

33

2

37

2

Genesis Academy for Girls

103

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically

District

District

Percentile Different from Rank (lower Average

(higher is

State

is better)

better)

Average?

Statistically Different from
District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

All-Subject Average Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts.
Comparison of 2017/18, 2016/17, and 2015/16 Value-Added and SGP Summary Results Genesis Academy for Girls' first year in operation is 2017/18, so it is not possible to make year-to-year performance assessments.

Genesis Academy for Girls

104

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Georgia Connections Academy

Key Findings
The value-added estimate of Georgia Connections Academy's impact on a student's average achievement across Math and ELA is -0.0986 in elementary grades, -0.0609 in middle grades, and 0.0525 in high school grades.
Georgia Connections Academy's combined Math and ELA performance is below the state average in both elementary and middle grades, but higher in high school grades. Because the school serves students throughout the state, it does not have a district comparison group.
Georgia Connections Academy's performance in 2017/18 has improved from 2016/17 in 9th Grade Literature, American Literature, Algebra 1, and Geometry. Its performance has been consistent in elementary Math and middle Math, but has decreased in elementary ELA and middle ELA across the three years.
The school's contribution to student achievement is: o above the state average in 9th Grade Literature, and American Literature; o below the state average in elementary ELA and elementary Math, middle school Math, Geometry; and o indistinguishable from the state average in elementary ELA and Algebra 1.

General Characteristics

School Name
Georgia Connections
Academy

Calendar Year
Opened

EMO Affiliation

Grades

2011

Connections Academy

K-12

Curriculum Focus Online Curriculum

School Year

SingleGender School

Virtual/ Online School

Normal

No

Yes

Serves Multiple Districts
Online

Parental Involvement Requirement
Not Specified

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in State of GA

Students Served

School Name GA Connections

Pct. Female Pct. White Pct. Black

53.7

49.7

34.2

Pct. Hispanic
8.2

Pct. Other Race
7.9

Pct. FRL 29.5

Pct. Direct Cert
24.0

Pct. LEP 0.6

Pct. SWD Pct. Gifted

11.8

4.1

105 Georgia Connections Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Value-Added and SGP Results Summary by Grade Level and Subject Overall School Effect: -0.0986 Elementary / -0.0609 Middle/ 0.0525 High

Georgia Connections Academy's contribution to an elementary and middle school student's average achievement across ELA and Math is lower than that of the average elementary and middle school in the state, and its contribution to a high school student's cross-subject average achievement is higher than that of the average high school in the state. It is important to note that averaging achievement scores across subjects masks any variation in school performance between subject areas. As a result, the table below also includes the school's effect on student achievement in each subject area.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State Percentile Statistically

District

District

(higher is

Different

Rank

Average

better)

from State (lower is

Average?

better)

Statistically Different from District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District

of Individual Percentile

Rank

SGPs

(higher is

(lower is

better)

better)

Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average
High 9th Grade Literature American Literature Algebra 1 Geometry

-0.0942 -0.1586 -0.0986
0.0258 -0.1787 -0.0609
0.1909 0.1612 -0.0484 -0.1370

17 Lower 12 Lower 16 Lower
61 No 8 Lower 22 Lower
94 Higher 90 Higher 37 No 23 Lower
Georgia Connections Academy

47

31

46

31

46

29

51

61

43

18

47

29

56

84

51

57

51

53

49

44

106

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State Percentile Statistically

District

District

(higher is

Different

Rank

Average

better)

from State (lower is

Average?

better)

Statistically Different from District Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District

of Individual Percentile

Rank

SGPs

(higher is

(lower is

better)

better)

All-Subject Average

0.0525

70 Higher

51

62

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts.

Georgia Connections Academy

107

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Comparison of 2017/18, 2016/17, and 2015/16 Value-Added and SGP Summary Results
Georgia Connections Academy's performance in 2017/18 has improved from 2016/17 in 9th Grade Literature, American Literature, Algebra 1, and Geometry. Its performance has been consistent in elementary Math and middle Math, but has decreased in elementary ELA and middle ELA across the three years.

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

2015/16 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Value-Added (Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

School Effect

2016/17* Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

School Effect

2017/18 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Elementary

ELA

0.0467 No

-0.0562 No

-0.0942 Lower

Math

-0.2548 Lower

-0.3232 Lower

-0.1586 Lower

All-Subject Average -0.1140 Lower

-0.1898 Lower

-0.0986 Lower

Middle

ELA

0.1242 Higher

0.0763 Higher

0.0258 No

Math

-0.2552 Lower

-0.3083 Lower

-0.1787 Lower

All-Subject Average -0.0827 Lower

-0.1086 Lower

-0.0609 Lower

High

9th Grade Literature 0.2357 Higher

0.1714 Higher

0.1909 Higher

American Literature 0.1316 Higher

0.0731 Higher

0.1612 Higher

Algebra 1

-0.0593 Lower

-0.1410 Lower

-0.0484 No

Coordinate Algebra

Geometry

-0.0346 No

-0.1616 Lower

-0.1370 Lower

Analytic Geometry

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts. Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

Georgia Connections Academy

108

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

*For 2016/17 the school-level measure of "Direct Certification" employed in the value-added calculations differs from the measure employed in prior years. Direct Certification represents students who either live in a family unit receiving SNAP benefits, live in family unit receiving TANF benefits, are identified as homeless, are in foster care or are migrant. Due to data limitations, students in foster care were not included in the direct certification tally in 2016/17.

Grade Level and Subject

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2015/16 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

Elementary

ELA

48

39

Math All-Subject Average

40

16

44

20

Middle

ELA Math

50

52

38

11

All-Subject Average High

43

15

9th Grade Literature

55

79

American Literature

51

61

Algebra 1

46

40

Coordinate Algebra

Geometry

43

36

Analytic Geometry

Note: Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

Student Growth Percentiles (Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2016/17 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

46

23

35

5

41

7

51

56

37

4

44

13

56

81

50

51

45

28

44

27

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2017/18 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

47

31

46

31

46

29

51

61

43

18

47

29

56

84

51

57

51

53

49

44

Georgia Connections Academy

109

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Georgia Cyber Academy

Key Findings
The value-added estimate of the school's impact on a student's average achievement across Math and ELA is -0.1948 in elementary grades and -0.0826 in middle grades, and -0.0514 in high school grades.
Georgia Cyber Academy's performance is below the state average in elementary, middle, and high school grades. Because the school serves students throughout the state, it does not have a district comparison group.
Georgia Cyber's 2017/18 performance is generally the same as prior years across all subjects. Elementary, middle, and high school Math remain below the state average in all three years, and Performance in 9th Grade Literature and American Literature remain above the state average for all three years.
The school's contribution to student achievement is: o above the state average in 9th Grade Literature and American Literature; o below the state average in elementary ELA, elementary Math, middle school ELA, middle school Math, Algebra 1, and Geometry.

General Characteristics

School Name

Calendar Year
Opened

EMO Affiliation

Grades

Georgia Cyber Academy

2014

K12 Inc.

K-12

Curriculum Focus Online Curriculum

School Year

SingleGender School

Normal

No

Virtual/ Online School
Yes

Serves Multiple Districts
Online

Parental Involvement Requirement
Not Specified

Enrollment Restrictions
Students residing in State of GA

110 GA Cyber Academy

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Students Served

School Name GA Cyber

Pct. Female Pct. White Pct. Black

51.7

47.3

35.9

Pct. Hispanic
8.1

Pct. Other Race
8.7

Pct. FRL 66.5

Pct. Direct Cert
35.9

Pct. LEP 0.9

Pct. SWD Pct. Gifted

13.7

9.3

Value-Added and SGP Results Summary by Grade Level and Subject Overall School Effect: -0.1948 Elementary / -0.0826 Middle/ -0.0514 High

Georgia Cyber's contribution to an elementary student's average achievement across ELA and Math is lower than that of the average elementary school in the state, its contribution to a middle school student's cross-subject average achievement is also lower than that of the average middle school in the state, and its contribution to a high school student's cross-subject average achievement is also lower than that of the average high school in the state. It is important to note that averaging achievement scores across subjects masks any variation in school performance between subject areas. As a result, the table below also includes the school's effect on student achievement in each subject area.

Grade Level and Subject
Elementary ELA Math All-Subject Average
Middle ELA Math All-Subject Average

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically

District

District

Statistically

Percentile Different from Rank (lower Average Different from

(higher is

State

is better)

District

better)

Average?

Average?

-0.1165 -0.3347 -0.1948
-0.0397 -0.1813 -0.0826

12 Lower 1 Lower 3 Lower
30 Lower 8 Lower 15 Lower

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

43

13

33

2

38

3

49

38

43

16

46

20

Georgia Cyber Academy

111

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

Value-Added

(Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

State

Statistically

District

District

Statistically

Percentile Different from Rank (lower Average Different from

(higher is

State

is better)

District

better)

Average?

Average?

Student Growth Percentiles

(Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean

State

District Rank

of Individual Percentile

(lower is

SGPs

(higher is

better)

better)

High

9th Grade Literature American Literature

0.1064 0.1162

83 Higher 83 Higher

53

69

50

50

Algebra 1 Geometry

-0.1456 -0.1934

19 Lower 13 Lower

40

15

41

13

All-Subject Average

-0.0514

30 Lower

46

25

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts.

Comparison of 2017/18, 2016/17, and 2015/16 Value-Added and SGP Summary Results
Georgia Cyber's 2017/18 performance is generally the same as prior years across all subjects. Elementary, middle, and high school Math remain below the state average in all three years, and 9th Grade Literature and American Literature remain above the state average for all three years. The school effect for elementary ELA remains below the state average, and middle ELA decreases.

Grade Level and Subject
Elementary ELA Math

School Effect

2015/16 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Value-Added (Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

School Effect

2016/17* Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

School Effect

2017/18 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

-0.0992 Lower -0.2910 Lower

-0.1621 Lower -0.3842 Lower

-0.1165 Lower -0.3347 Lower

Georgia Cyber Academy

112

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Effect

2015/16 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

Value-Added (Controls for Student Demographics and Prior Test Scores)

School Effect

2016/17* Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

School Effect

2017/18 Statistically District Different Average from State Average?

Statistically Different from District Average?

All-Subject Average -0.1598 Lower

-0.2759 Lower

-0.1948 Lower

Middle

ELA

0.0052 No

-0.0168 No

-0.0397 Lower

Math

-0.1848 Lower

-0.2392 Lower

-0.1813 Lower

All-Subject Average -0.1084 Lower

-0.1303 Lower

-0.0826 Lower

High

9th Grade Literature 0.0619 Higher

0.1500 Higher

0.1064 Higher

American Literature 0.1949 Higher

0.0917 Higher

0.1162 Higher

Algebra 1

-0.1354 Lower

-0.1740 Lower

-0.1456 Lower

Coordinate Algebra

Geometry

-0.1382 Lower

-0.1934 Lower

Analytic Geometry -0.1428 Lower

Note: Statistical significance is based on a 95 percent confidence level. The state average value-added effect is zero. The district average represents the simple average of the school effects of all schools in the relevant district or set of districts. Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.
*For 2016/17 the school-level measure of "Direct Certification" employed in the value-added calculations differs from the measure employed in prior years. Direct Certification represents students who either live in a family unit receiving SNAP benefits, live in family unit receiving TANF benefits, are identified as homeless, are in foster care or are migrant. Due to data limitations, students in foster care were not included in the direct certification tally in 2016/17.

Georgia Cyber Academy

113

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Grade Level and Subject

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2015/16 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

Elementary

ELA

42

10

Math All-Subject Average

36

8

42

12

Middle

ELA

45

22

Math

42

20

All-Subject Average

43

15

High

9th Grade Literature American Literature

49

44

50

53

Algebra 1 Coordinate Algebra

39

16

Geometry

Analytic Geometry

41

20

Note: Schools with a statewide attendance zone have no comparison district.

Student Growth Percentiles (Controls only for Prior Test Scores)

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2016/17 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

44

16

34

4

39

5

49

41

42

12

46

20

53

64

46

30

38

10

42

18

School Mean of Individual
SGPs

2017/18 State
Percentile (higher is better)

District Rank (lower
is better)

43

13

33

2

38

3

49

38

43

16

46

20

53

69

50

50

40

15

41

13

Georgia Cyber Academy

114

State Charter Schools Performance Evaluation, 2017/18

Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics

Key Findings
Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics' estimated value-added impact on a student's average achievement across Math and ELA is -0.1074 in elementary grades and -0.1289 in middle grades.
The school's performance is statistically lower than the state average in both elementary and middle grades. Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics' performance in 2017/18 has declined compared to 2016/17. The school's contribution to student achievement is:
o indistinguishable from the state average in elementary ELA; and o statistically lower than the state average for elementary Math, middle school ELA, and middle school Math.

General Characteristics

School Name

Calendar Year