COVINGTON, Ga. - State School Superintendent Richard Woods today released the Georgia College and Career Ready Performance Index for the 2018-2019 school year. 

CCRPI scores are based on five separate components – content mastery, progress, closing gaps, readiness and, for high schools, graduation rate.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS:

Three Newton County School System elementary schools scored above the state average in 2019, including Fairview Elementary, Newton County Theme, and West Newton Elementary. In addition, three schools posted increased scores in 2019, including Fairview Elementary, Rocky Plains Elementary, and West Newton Elementary. 

MIDDLE SCHOOLS:

At the middle school level, Newton County Theme School posted a score higher than the state’s middle school score. In addition, two schools—Newton County Theme and Veterans Memorial Middle—increased their total scores in 2019. 

HIGH SCHOOLS:

Eastside High School topped the state’s high school CCRPI score in 2019 while Alcovy High School posted an increased total score.

CCRPI SCORE REPORT:

Newton County School System’s College & Career Readiness Performance Index results for the 2018-2019 school year are as follows:

“While we have had several years of progress, the 2018-2019 school year results did not continue that trend. We anticipated there would be a decrease in our results due to a change in the way we administered our state assessments,” Samantha Fuhrey, NCSS superintendent, said. “We were required to switch from a paper-based administration to an online administration in grades 3-8.

"Although we prepared students in advance for the transition, more work needs to be done; we learned that many students struggled to complete the writing portion of the assessment due to their keyboarding skills. As a result, we have developed plans to spend additional time to better equip students for an online assessment.”

Today, both Gov. Brian Kemp and State School Superintendent Richard Woods acknowledged in the state’s press release that “work still needs to be done to support students and improve student achievement, while expressing a need to refine the CCRPI measurement to ensure it is a fair and stable measure that accurately captures school performance.”

“I am a strong supporter of holding schools accountable for increased student achievement, but in a year when we’ve seen nearly across-the-board increases in national test scores and graduation rates as well as Georgia Milestones scores, seeing the CCRPI show a decrease instead raises concerns about the measurement used to determine school and district achievement,” Kemp said. “I believe that we need to engage in a thoughtful process to create an accountability system that paints a true picture of what’s happening in a school.

"With unprecedented alignment between my office, the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, and the Department of Education, I’m confident that we’re finally in the right position to make long-needed refinements to this measurement.”

Woods emphasized his commitment to work with state and federal partners to reduce the weight of standardized test scores in the CCRPI and move toward a wider and deeper measurement of performance that reflects the true mission of K-12 public schools: preparing students for life.  

“As we aim to lessen the number of high-stakes tests our students take, we need the weight of testing in CCRPI to reflect the same priorities,” Woods said. “Georgia’s parents, taxpayers, students and educators deserve a fair measurement of performance that lifts up, rather than labels, our public schools. Working with Governor Kemp and the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, the time is right to make that shift.”

Superintendent Samantha Fuhrey also noted her continued concerns with the CCRPI instrument in general and gratitude that Georgia leaders would be taking the initiative to revamp the current model going forward.

“Each year I have raised concerns regarding the validity of the CCRPI instrument as a means of measuring students’ and schools’ progress and success. There were multiple years, especially after its inception in 2012, that the CCRPI calculation rules and measurements changed every year, creating a moving target and the inability to compare results to previous years. I have stated repeatedly that consistency from year to year with regard to what and how schools and systems are measured is critical to the planning and preparation of our teachers and leaders. I am very happy to see that both Governor Kemp and State Superintendent Woods have expressed their own concerns with the current model of the CCRPI. It gives me hope that their plan to work together to create a tool that is both fair and accurate will result in an instrument that measures not just standardized test scores but true performance and success.”

She added, “Until a new model is created and implemented, we will use this year’s CCRPI results—which we were obviously disappointed in—to help make plans for improvement going forward. I truly appreciate the hard work and dedication of our school leaders and teachers, especially in the schools that experienced improved scores this year. We will continue to work with school leaders and our teaching team to ensure that students benefit from a high quality experience each and every day.”

For more information, contact Dr. Allison Jordan, director of testing, research, and evaluation for Newton County Schools at jordan.allison@newton.k12.ga.us.