Middle schools 18th best in state; but high schools 56th out of 180 systems
Fayette high schools’ most recent test scores lagged those in neighboring Coweta County, while test scores for Fayette’s elementary and middle schools slightly exceeded those of its neighbor to the west.
Scores from the College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) for the 2014-2015 school year showed Fayette students in the Top 5 school systems in metro Atlanta and somewhat lower compared to school systems statewide.
Released by the Georgia Department of Education, the CCRPI, based on data from the 2014-2015 school year, shows Fayette’s elementary, middle and high schools among the best in the state and metro Atlanta, said school system spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach.
Based on a 100-point scale, the average score for Fayette’s elementary schools was 84.1 (8.1 points above the state); middle schools had a score of 81.8 (10.6 points above the state); and high schools scored 78.5 (3 points above the state), said Berry-Dreisbach.
Statewide, including systems much smaller than Fayette, the county’s elementary schools had the 13th highest average score, middle schools had the 18th highest average score, and high schools had the 56th highest average score, Berry-Dreisbach said.
In the metro-area, Fayette’s elementary and middle schools had the second highest average scores, and high schools had the fifth highest average score.
By way of comparison, Forsyth County elementary schools in north Georgia scored 92.3, middle schools scored 91.1 and high schools scored 87.6 on the CCRPI.
In Coweta County, elementary schools scored 75.6, middle schools scored 75.8 and high schools scored 81.9 on the CCRPI.
The CCRPI is Georgia’s statewide accountability system, implemented in 2012 to replace No Child Left Behind’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) measurement, after the U.S. Department of Education granted Georgia’s waiver from NCLB. It measures schools and school districts on a 100-point scale based on multiple indicators of performance, helping parents and the public better understand how schools are performing in a more comprehensive manner than the pass/fail system previously in place under AYP, Berry-Dreisbach said.
Because of changes to the way CCRPI is calculated, including but not limited to a new assessment system, changes in weights, and recalculated performance targets, a direct comparison between 2014 and 2015 CCRPI scores is not possible, Berry-Dreisbach said.
Georgia has more than 180 school districts. Some of those include stand-alone charter schools.
