Conyers, Ga. – The Georgia Department of Education released College and Career Readiness Index (CCRPI) data for 2023. This is based on students’ performance on the 2023 Georgia Milestones Assessments administered last spring. Rockdale County Public Schools (RCPS) made significant gains in several areas within the elementary, middle, and high school levels. In its press release, the Georgia Department of Education explained changes made to the CCRPI accountability system.
The CCRPI no longer includes an overall, 0-100 score for schools, districts, or the state. This change was first implemented in 2022 under an addendum received from the U.S. Department of Education and made permanent this year under an amendment to Georgia’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan.
Each CCRPI component – Content Mastery, Progress, Closing Gaps, Readiness, and Graduation Rate for high schools – still has a 0-100 score. The change was made to increase transparency and provide a more complete picture of school performance, ensuring that challenges and opportunities are not hidden behind a single score.
Not all indicators within components were calculated in 2022 due to pandemic-related data limitations. In addition, changes were made to the overall Readiness component for 2023, making it not comparable to 2022.
At the elementary school level, RCPS saw gains in Content Mastery over last year and in the Progress and Closing Gaps components over the 2019 pre-pandemic data. Readiness also increased, but the indicator change does not allow for exact comparison.
Middle schools also increased in Progress over our pre-pandemic data. Our middle schools exceeded the state’s Progress performance by nearly 5 points. Readiness also increased over last year, but the indicator change does not allow for exact comparison.
For high schools, gains were made in Content Mastery and Graduation Rate with an increase in Closing Gaps over the pre-pandemic data.
RCPS’ overall CCRPI Graduation Rate increased by more than 3% in 2023. The RCPS 2023 Four-Year Cohort Graduation Rate of 87.04% is the highest ever recorded since the state adopted the federal cohort calculation method in 2012. As a high school CCRPI indicator, the district’s Four-Year Cohort Graduation Rate is multiplied by 66.67% then added to the Five-Year Cohort Graduation Rate multiplied by 33.33% to determine the overall graduation rate for CCRPI reporting purposes.
Some notable literacy achievement gains within the Readiness component include our Elementary Readiness in reading at or above grade level, which increased by over 20 points year-over-year. Additionally, Middle School Readiness in reading at or above grade level increased by over 15 points year-over-year. Finally, High School Readiness in reading at or above grade level increased by nearly 10 points year-over-year. Some of the indicators within the Readiness component did not change, allowing for this year-over-year comparison.
“I am happy with our gains on the CCRPI indicators,” said Rockdale County Board of Education Chairwoman Pam Brown. “As a district, we are committed to continuous improvement, and our gains on our CCRPI indicators reflect continuous improvement,” said Brown.
“I am very pleased with our CCRPI indicator gains, and I am particularly proud of the literacy gains that we have made as a district,” said Superintendent Dr. Terry Oatts. “While I am pleased with the gains we have made, as a district we remain committed to continuous improvement in student learning, achievement, and growth. As we celebrate our gains, we are also focused on the areas where there are opportunities for continuous improvement.”