Scoreboard Research and Development

GOSA subjected the development of items included on the scoreboard to a rigorous approval process. This process included a review of research literature, consultation with members of well-known state and national education organizations and the business community, and feedback from the leaders of each of Georgia's education agencies.

This deliberate process resulted in a well-planned Scoreboard that addresses the questions many parents, educators and businesspeople have about Georgia's system of education. GOSA's Report Card is also still available and allows users to drill down into more detailed information.

State-Level Scoreboard

Georgia's Education Scoreboard actually consists of several related scoreboards. The first is the state-level scoreboard, which includes indicators showing Georgia's student achievement compared with all 16 Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states, and also with the nation as a whole. GOSA sought indicators that would be comparable across states. An exception is the high school graduation rate. Georgia and 31 other states currently use the National Center for Education Statistics' "Leaver Rate" to calculate the graduation rate. Due to slight differences in data collections among these states, it is not possible to make valid comparisons. In 2010, 39 states (including Georgia) will begin reporting using a consistent method according to the National Governors Association Compact.

K-12 Scoreboard

Each elementary, middle and high school and each school system in Georgia also has its own scoreboard. Elementary and middle school achievement scores are mostly based on the number of students passing all content areas of the CRCTs at each grade level. High school scoreboards include some common indicators (graduation rates, SAT scores, etc.), but also several others that emerged as important indicators of success through GOSA's research and discussions with various experts. Following are two examples of new data included on the Scoreboard for high schools.

First, research in the Chicago Public Schools shows a substantial relationship between students' success in 9th grade and their graduation rates. The Chicago research "combines two indicators-the number of credits earned and the number of semester F's in core subjects. Each of these on its own is highly predictive of graduation." GOSA used a similar line of thinking in creating the 9th Grade On-Track indicator for each high school, using existing data sources. This indicator is defined on the Scoreboard as "The percent of first-time 9th graders who took and passed the 9th Grade Literature EOCT and who were not retained."

Using the data behind the scoreboard, GOSA found that only 18 school districts (about one in ten) had overall 9th Grade On-Track Rates greater than 75% as shown in the table to the right.

Second, another data point that is unique to the high school Scoreboard is the "College-Ready HOPE Scholars" indicator. Some high school graduates meet the GPA requirements to earn the HOPE scholarship but score low enough on placement exams, the SAT/ACT, or are missing some coursework and are required by the University System of Georgia or their specific institution to take Learning Support coursework when they enroll in college. Using data provided by the University System of Georgia, this indicator shows the percentage of students earning HOPE at each high school who did not need Learning Support courses upon entering a USG institution, and were, therefore, "college-ready" when they graduated.

These data show that several school systems in the state are doing well at preparing their students for college, even when compared to private schools in the state. Georgia's private schools produced a College-Ready HOPE Scholars rate of 93.6% last year. In other words, only 6.4% of private school students in Georgia who earned a HOPE scholarship were required to take Learning Support classes upon entering college at a USG institution in Fall 2006. In comparison, 26 public school systems in Georgia with at least 20 students earning a HOPE scholarship had a better College-Ready HOPE Scholar rate than the private school average, as shown to the left.