Georgia ESSA Accountability FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Where can i find Georgia's ESSA Plan?

ESSA Plan

2. What is minimum number of students used in Georgia's accountability system?

Georgia will utilize a minimum N of 15 for all students and each subgroup of students for an indicator to be included in reporting and scoring for accountability purposes. (ESSA Plan: pg. 13)

3. What are the long-term goals and measurements of interim progress within Georgia's accountability system?

Under ESSA, Georgia is creating a new target structure in which growth or maintenance of high achievement levels is expected of all schools and all subgroups. The goal of Georgia’s new target structure is to incentivize continuous, sustainable improvement. The state will calculate school-level improvement targets, defined as 3% of the gap between a baseline and 90%.

Improvement Target = (90 – baseline2017) * 0.03

(ESSA Plan: pgs. 17-27; 121-127Z)

4. What are the indicators used in Georgia’s accountability system and how are the indicators weighted?

See College and Career Reading Performance Index (CCRPI) Indicators for more details.

The weights of indicators (ESSA Plan pg. 45)

The indicators required by ESSA are grouped into five CCRPI components: Content Mastery, Progress, Closing Gaps, Readiness, and Graduation Rate (high school only). While indicator scores will be calculated and combined to produce component scores, each indicator will be reported separately and disaggregated by subgroup. If a school does not have an indicator (for example, too few students to measure the Progress Toward English Language Proficiency indicator), the weight associated with that indicator will be redistributed proportionally to the other indicators within the applicable component.

· Within the Content Mastery component, the four achievement indicators are weighted according to the number of tests administered in that content area. For elementary schools, ELA and mathematics (weighted equally) comprise approximately 85.7% of the score while science comprises approximately 14.3% of the score. For middle schools, ELA and mathematics (weighted equally) comprise 75% of the score while science and social studies (weighted equally) comprise 25% of the score. For high schools, all four content areas are weighted equally.

· Within the Progress component, ELA and mathematics progress each comprise 45% of the weight while progress toward English language proficiency comprises 10% of the weight.

· The Closing Gaps component is a single indicator, based on the weighted percentage of achievement targets met across all students and all student subgroups.

· Within the Readiness component (three indicators for elementary schools, three indicators for middle schools, and five indicators for high schools), all indicators are weighted equally.

· Within the Graduation Rate component (high schools only), the four-year graduation rate receives 2/3 of the points and the five-year graduation rate received 1/3 of the points. While it is possible to earn extra points in three components (Content Mastery, Progress, Closing Gaps) and one Readiness indicator (Pathway Completion), the maximum score possible for all indicators and components will be 100. Should a school earn a score greater than 100 for an indicator, a maximum score of 100 will be utilized in all CCRPI calculations. This ensures that high performance (greater than 100) on one indicator does not mask low performance on another indicator. Identification for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) is based on all indicators and components utilizing a staged approach that 1) affords substantial weight to academic achievement, other academic indicator for elementary and secondary schools that are not high schools, graduation rate, and progress in achieving English language proficiency and 2) in the aggregate, affords much greater weight to these indicators than to the student quality and success indicators.

· NOTE: Closing Gaps will not be available in mathematics in 2023-2024 and in ELA in 2025-2026 due to the implementation of new standards and assessments in each content area. 2024 and 2026 data for each content area, respectively, will be used to set new baselines for Closing Gaps.

5. What is the methodology used to differentiate schools within Georgia’s Accountability system?

In accordance with current state law (§20-14-33), the CCRPI indicators and components are reported on a scale of 0-100 which will allow for annual meaningful differentiation. While it is possible to earn extra points for very high levels of achievement (Content Mastery), progress (Progress) and achievement gap closure (Closing Gaps), the maximum score possible for all indicators and components will be 100. Additionally, the state’s method of identifying schools for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) is based on all indicators and components described in 4.iv and provides an additional method of annual meaningful differentiation. Indicator performance will be reported for all students and each subgroup of students annually for all eligible public schools, including primary, alternative, and charter schools.

(ESSA Plan pg. 44)

6. What are methodologies and respective exit criteria used to identify underperforming schools?

Details for this can be found at the following link - Federal School Identification Criteria.

There are currently three federal identification classifications used for underperforming schools.

Classification	Classification Review Cycle	Exit Criteria
Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) 1. the lowest performing 5% of all Title I schools 2. all high schools with a graduation rate ≤ 67% 3. all schools identified for ATSI support for the same student group(s) for six years	Every 3 years	· For elementary, middle and high schools: Schools will exit this classification if the school does not meet the entrance criteria AND demonstrates an improvement in Content Mastery, ELA achievement, mathematics achievement, or science achievement from the year of identification to the current year. · In addition to the above criteria, high schools must also attain a four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate greater than 67%. This exit criterion is reviewed annually. · If a school has been identified for ATSI support, it must also meet the ATSI exit criteria.
Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) · Identifies any school with one or more consistently underperforming student groups	Annually	· Schools may exit TSI identification if it does not meet the TSI entrance criteria.
Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) · Among schools meeting the TSI criteria, identifies any school in which any student group, on its own, would be identified as a CSI school	Every 3 years	· Schools may exit ATSI identification if it does not meet the entrance criteria AND demonstrate an improvement in Content Mastery, ELA achievement, mathematics achievement, or science achievement for all identified student groups from the year of identification to the current year.