Embarking on a Quest to Make Georgia a Top-Performing State for Public Education

January 12, 2018 Print This Post

 

by Stephen D. Dolinger
President, Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education

On January 5^th, we released the 14th edition of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education’s Top Ten Issues to Watch in 2018. In the years since we released the inaugural edition of this publication, the Top Ten has become one of the Partnership’s signature efforts, and its release each year is anticipated by education stakeholders across the state.

With the release of this edition—the Top Ten Issues to Watch in 2018—it is fitting to consider the educational progress Georgia has made since our first issue was published in 2005. During that time, Georgia has embarked on a series of education policy improvements to ensure that all students are successful in college and their chosen careers, and we have made progress. For example:

• Georgia students have the ninth largest increase in the nation on the average scale score of fourth-grade students in reading between 2005 and 2015 on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP).
• Georgia students have the 11^th largest increase in the nation on the average scale score of eighth-grade students in mathematics between 2005 and 2015 on the NAEP.
• The 2017 high-school graduation rate was over 80 percent.

That progress has moved Georgia from one of the lowest performing states to rank around the national average in student performance across the country. While that is an improvement, that is not where we need to be. Our goal is to be a global leader in education outcomes for our students.  The Top Ten is built to help inform and guide Georgia’s educational policy to help us meet that goal.

Additionally, the Georgia Partnership has created a framework called EdQuest Georgia based on the policies that high-performing states, countries, and school systems share. You will see EdQuest mentioned in greater detail in the Top Ten Issues to Watch in 2018.  The framework represents an essential policy ecosystem, identifying core policy areas and where Georgia stands within them. The Top Ten takes a deeper dive into specific issues facing Georgia today—and how they fit into a broader policy framework for education improvement—across those core policies.

Georgia Partnership’s goal is that the commentary in the report serves as a tool for policymakers, educators, community and business leaders, and all education stakeholders to identify where opportunities exist to move Georgia forward. We hope that you join us on this quest to make Georgia a top-performing state for public education!

Download Top Ten Issues to Watch in 2018.

If you have any questions or if you would like to receive a hard copy of the report, contact Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education Communications Director Matt Cordoza at mcardoza@gpee.org, or at 404-223-2464.

About the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education
Founded in 1992 by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Economic Developers Association, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education consists of business, education, community and government leaders who share a vision of improved education.  An independent organization, the Partnership is working to be Georgia’s foremost change agent in education.  The non-partisan, nonprofit Georgia Partnership takes lead roles in efforts to impact education policies and practices for the improvement of student achievement.