Atlanta schools earn low grade for school “choice”
Atlanta Public Schools earned a “D” for educational “choice and competition” from a prominent think tank that reviewed big school districts across the country.
The Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution's annual Education Choice and Competition Index gave Atlanta high marks for accessibility to "virtual" courses and for closing schools with declining enrollment. But the group dinged the district on numerous measures, including alternatives to traditional schools, fairness in school assignment and clarity of online performance data.
The index ranked Atlanta 83rd of 112 school districts surveyed nationwide. Cobb was the highest rated Georgia school district in the report. Most in metro Atlanta scored in the same range as Atlanta, but the city district had the lowest ranking. Brookings calculated that 29 percent of Atlanta students are in "alternative" schools.
Brookings relied on federal education data, responses from district surveys and other research, and did not discuss the findings with the districts before the release on Thursday. The organization says 55 percent of the nation’s largest school districts give parents a choice for where to send their children and a fifth of states let students enroll outside their home district.
About the Author
Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.
