State Releases CCRPI Scores for School Systems, Franklin, Hart on Track
The Georgia State School Board has released some numbers indicating how schools systems are doing under the new College and Career Readiness Performance Index or CCRPI.
It measures schools and school districts on an easy-to-understand 100-point scale, helping parents and the public better understand how schools are performing in a more comprehensive manner than the pass/fail system previously in place under AYP.
Georgia’s elementary schools saw a one-year decrease in scores from 77.8 to 72.6 (-5.2), middle schools saw a one-year decrease in scores from 74.6 to 73.2 (-1.4) and high schools saw a one-year decrease in scores from 71.8 to 68.4 (-3.4).
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
| Elementary | 74.5 | 77.8 | 72.6 |
| Middle | 73.8 | 74.6 | 73.2 |
| High | 72.8 | 71.8 | 68.4 |
| Single Score | 74.1 | 75.8 | 72.0 |
Speaking to WLHR News in November, Franklin County School Superintendent Dr. Ruth O’Dell said the CCRPI is part of a whole new system of learning and teaching designed to help students prepare early on for a career.
“That’s really what the new curriculum we’ve been using the past several years is all about – it’s college and career readiness,” she said. “It’s the way that we’re asking kids to think and write and communicate. Even kids with disabilities. We’re not saying they can’t do this. We’re finding ways to accommodate their learning problems so that they can learn the material and be successful.”
For Franklin County schools overall, the rate has gone up and then came down, following a trend seen in schools systems statewide, according to Georgia School Superintendent Dr. John Barge.
In 2012, Franklin County’s CCRPI rate for all schools was 74.9. In 2013, it rose to 79 district wide, but dropped in 2014 to 75.3.
Hart County, similarly saw rises and falls in its overall score from 72.2 in 2012, to 71.9 in 2013 to 74.4 in 2014. Barge said the rises and falls in the CCRPI numbers are not surprising.
“While decreasing CCRPI scores are disappointing, they are not unexpected,” Superintendent Barge said. “This index is still relatively new and demands different areas of focus for our schools. Improvements will not happen overnight, but the CCRPI is giving them a roadmap to tailor an education that is student-centered and one that will ensure they are college and career ready.”
Barge also said one reason for the drop in scores in 2013 was because the 2013 data was calculated for the first time reflecting a new calculation, and the 2012 scores were recalculated applying a new calculation methodology.
The updated calculations require schools and districts to meet greater expectations to earn high scores.
O’Dell said teachers and staff in her system are committed to helping children succeed.
“We’ve got a special group of teachers and administrators in our system,” she said. “We have some very good leaders all over. We have a lot of teacher/leaders who are making an impact,” We have teachers who have special expertise. They’re delivering professional learning in their buildings because they know a lot in their specific area. It’s not easy work by any means.”
One obstacle facing teachers in Franklin County, according to Dr. O’Dell is a mindset that goes back generations that some students just will never succeed because of their economic status.
“We’ve had a culture of accepting that some kids won’t learn or won’t be able to graduate because they come from here or they come from there,” she said. They think that about themselves. So a good amount of what we have to do even better at is changing that mindset. We still have kids who believe school is not for them.”
The CCRPI is Georgia’s statewide accountability system, implemented in 2012 to replace the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) measurement, after the U.S. Department of Education granted Georgia’s waiver from NCLB on Feb. 9, 2012.