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State Makes Changes to School Accountability System

December 8th, 2013

Every public school in Georgia will soon receive a state-issued report card. This is the second year officials have used the reports. But there will be some changes this year.

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The report card evaluates three criteria –achievement, progress, and how well the school has closed the achievement gap. The biggest change to the report card will be how each one of those things is weighted. Matt Cardoza is a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Education:

“Achievement is now 60% instead of 70%, but the progress moved from 15% to 25% and the achievement gap remains at 15%,” he says.

Cardoza says last year was a baseline year. Officials wanted to see how the system worked and make changes if needed. But he admits that makes it harder to compare the scores.

“They may be similar, but they’re not completely apples-to-apples,” Cardoza says. “So, at some point, of course, we want to get to where we can see what that actual change is over time.”

The report card is part of the state’s new accountability system. The system was developed after Georgia received a waiver from part of the federal “No Child Left Behind” law.