Seven Atlanta schools improve enough to avoid potential state...

Seven of the more than two dozen Atlanta schools at risk of potential state takeover have improved enough to avoid that fate, according to new state ratings released today.

But two other Atlanta schools are now newly at risk of takeover.

The ratings the Georgia Department of Education released today are called the College and Career Ready Performance Index or CCRPI. The ratings are largely based on student performance on state tests, although some schools have reported problems with test administration in recent years.

If voters approve Gov. Nathan Deal's Opportunity School District plan in November, the state would be able to take control of schools that received an "F" on their CCRPI for three years in a row and close them, run them itself or convert them to charter schools

The Atlanta schools that improved enough to make it off the potential takeover list are Benteen, Dobbs, Toomer and Usher-Collier Heights elementary schools; Sylvan Hills Middle School; and Therrell School of Law, Government and Public Policy and Mays high schools.

The Atlanta schools that are now eligible for potential state takeover are Fain Elementary School and Miles Intermediate School. Both saw improvements in their state ratings this year, but still scored low enough to be at list of takeover.

Atlanta’s performance at elementary, middle and high school are all below the state averages.

And in Atlanta, as in many cities, there’s a stark economic and racial divide between the highest and lowest performing schools: At all but one of Atlanta’s highest rated schools — Early College High School at Carver — less than a fifth of students are low-income. At the lowest rated schools, nearly all students are low-income.

Highest rated schools in Atlanta: