Atlanta Public Schools (APS) achieved an overall score of 74.1 on the 2019 College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI), an increase of 0.7 from 2018. The overall 2019 CCRPI score for the state is 75.9, down 0.7 from 2018, according to data released by the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE). APS’ 2019 overall score narrowed the gap with the state by 1.4 points to 1.8.

At the high school level, both district and state scores increased from last year. APS outpaced the state with a gain of 4.9 to a score of 70.4, narrowing the gap 3.2 points with the state compared to 2018. At the middle school level, while the state declined 4.1 points, APS only declined by 0.6 to a 2019 score of 72.2. As a result, APS surpassed the state score of 72.1. Similarly, despite a slight decrease at the elementary level for APS to a 2019 score of 77.1, the gap between APS and the state decreased to just 0.5 points (compared to 1 point in 2018).

Additionally, 19 APS elementary schools beat the state average of 77.1, six more than last year; 13 middle schools beat the state average of 72.1, nine more than last year; and five high schools beat the state average of 77.0, the same as last year.

“What we’re seeing with the CCRPI scores largely reflects the performance trends we saw in our Georgia Milestones results,” APS Superintendent Dr. Meria Carstarphen said.  “We can see the foundational work started in 2014 beginning to take effect across the District as we narrow gaps with the state. But the scores for all schools must increase, so we are continuing the hard work to provide our students with a rigorous academic experience.”

According to the latest results, 48 of 87 APS schools saw increases in their CCRPI scores compared to 2018. Schools achieving double-digit gains include: KIPP Vision Primary (+24.7), KIPP WAYS Primary (+21.6), M.A. Jones ES (+19.1), Bolton Academy (+17.5), Hutchinson ES (+15.7), KIPP Vision (+15.7), Thomasville Heights ES (+15.5), Forrest Hill (+14.9), Towns ES (+14.1), E. Rivers ES (+13.2), Humphries ES (+12.6), Carver STEAM (+11.4), Jackson HS (+11.3), Garden Hills ES (+10.2) and Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy (+10.1).

Due to changes GaDOE made to the CCRPI components and indicators and the weighting of those components, this marks the first year that one-to-one comparisons can be made to the previous year of CCRPI scores.

“While the state CCRPI scores decreased overall, we are proud that more than half of our schools achieved increases in 2019,” said Superintendent Carstarphen. “We continue to look at multiple measures, including Georgia Milestones, graduation rates, student growth percentiles, climate star ratings and other indicators in order to get a full picture of our students’ overall academic experience.”

Definitions

Following the reauthorization of the Federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, GaDOE redesigned CCRPI for the 2017-2018 school year. Every school and district in Georgia receive a CCRPI score on a scale from 0 to 100. The CCRPI reporting system includes four components for elementary and middle schools and five components for high schools:

• Content Mastery – The achievement of students in English language arts, math, science, and social studies.
• Progress – A measure of growth in English language arts and math students have made relative to academically-similar students across Georgia and a measure of the progress English learners are making towards English-language proficiency.
• Closing Gaps – The extent to which all students and all student subgroups are meeting annual achievement improvement targets.
• Readiness – A measure of literacy, student attendance, and enrichment beyond core academic subjects in middle and elementary schools, while additionally including accelerated enrollment, pathway completion, and a demonstration of college and career readiness for high schools.
• Graduation (high schools only) – Four-year and five-year adjusted cohort graduation rates.

The overall CCRPI score is reported on a 0‐100 scale. Each CCRPI indicator and component is also reported on a 0‐100 scale.