A year-round charter school was the top-performing school in Clayton County for the 2012-13 school year in two categories, according to a statewide assessment released Monday.
The Elite Scholars Academy School had the highest scores for middle and high school students in the county for the assessment, data from the Georgia Department of Education showed. The academy, located in Morrow, has students in grades six through 12. Lake City Elementary School was the top performing elementary school.
Schools and districts are receiving grades through the state’s College and Career-Ready Performance Index, which uses student test scores, academic progress and closing the gap in performance between groups of students to come up with a numerical grade of zero to 110.
Georgia’s elementary and middle schools performed better in 2012-2013 than they did the year before, the data showed. High school performance was down slightly.
Among districts in the heart of metro Atlanta, Atlanta Public Schools got higher grades on the elementary, middle and high school level. Cobb was up on the elementary and middle school level and down on the high school level. DeKalb was down on all three levels. Fulton was up on all three levels. Gwinnett was down on the elementary level and high school level, but its middle school grade was up.
In Clayton, elementary schools got higher grades, but middle and high schools were slightly down.
State officials expect the grades to become a key indicator of how schools and districts are performing. Some, however, have questioned whether any single grade could adequately capture the performance of schools and districts. Others complain that the grades rely too heavily on standardized test scores and don’t give enough credit for improving student performance.
Grades from the 2012-13 school year were supposed to be released in November, but department officials pushed that date back as they changed the way the grades are calculated. Now, more emphasis is given to academic progress.
Search our interactive database at MyAJC.com to see how your school fared.
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