Obtaining nationally comparative results and benchmarks

The office’s state education accountability analysis and reporting program shall obtain nationally comparative results and benchmarks for the subject areas and grade levels for which criterion-referenced and nationally normed reference assessment instruments are adopted, compare Georgia results to such results, and include the findings in the report required of the office in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 20-14-27. (Code 1981, § 20-14-32, enacted by Ga. L. 2000, p. 618, § 93; Ga. L. 2004, p. 107, § 21.) 474 20-14-33 20-14-33. Indicators of quality of learning in individual schools and school systems; comparison to state standards; rating schools and school systems; providing information; uniform definition of ‘‘dropout’’ and ‘‘below grade level’’. (a) The office, in coordination with the Department of Education, shall adopt and annually review, and revise as necessary, indicators of the quality of learning by students, financial efficiency, and school climate for individual schools and for school systems. (b) The performance indicators of quality of learning shall be based on data that include student achievement, achievement gap closure, and student progress. The performance indicators of quality of learning shall include all students regardless of ethnicity, sex, disability, language proficiency, and socioeconomic status and shall be disaggregated by all subgroups as required under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended. (c) Performance on the indicators of quality of learning, financial efficiency, school climate, and any other indicators the office adopts shall be compared to state standards, progress on improved student achievement, and comparable performance. The standards for comparison shall be established by the office as provided in Code Section 20-14-31, in coordination with the Department of Education. Data and information regarding the standards shall be included in the annual report provided for in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 20-14-27. Financial efficiency may include an analysis of how federal and state funds spent by local school systems impact student achievement and school improvement, and components used to determine financial efficiency may include actual achievement, resource efficiency, and student participation in standardized testing. School climate determinations may utilize data from student health surveys, data on environmental and behavior indicators, data on student behavioral and school-based reactions, and teacher and parent survey instruments. Financial efficiency and school climate shall have one of the following star ratings based upon the factors included in this subsection, as further defined by rules and regulations of the office: (1) ‘‘5-star’’ schools ranked excellent according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate; (2) ‘‘4-star’’ schools ranked above average according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate; (3) ‘‘3-star’’ schools ranked average according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate; 475 20-14-33 (4) ‘‘2-star’’ schools ranked below satisfactory according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate; or (5) ‘‘1-star’’ schools ranked unsatisfactory according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate. (d) The office, in coordination with the Department of Education, shall establish and annually calculate individual school and school system ratings, which shall be a numerical score on a scale of 0-100, for each public school and school system in this state based on the indicators of quality of learning adopted pursuant to this Code section for student achievement, achievement gap closure, and student progress with a majority of the score based on student achievement. (e) Each school system shall provide all student performance data and all other data necessary for the calculation of the school and school system rating to the Department of Education’s educational information system in accordance with rules and timelines established by the State Board of Education and the Department of Education shall make such data available to the office to enable it to conduct its required duties. (f ) The office shall develop and the State Board of Education shall adopt a uniform definition of ‘‘dropout.’’ All schools and school systems shall report student dropout information to the Department of Education’s educational information system in accordance with rules and timelines established by the state board as provided in subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-167. Each school system shall cooperate with the office in determining whether a student is a dropout under this subsection and shall adopt the uniform definition of ‘‘dropout.’’ Data and information regarding the establishment of the definition and the tracking of dropout and school completion data shall be included in the annual report provided for in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 20-14-27. School completion data shall be included in the performance indicators of quality of learning for each school and school system. (g) The office shall develop and the State Board of Education shall adopt a uniform definition of a ‘‘below grade level’’ student for purposes of placing students in the early intervention program under Code Section 20-2-153 and for purposes of tracking these students for accountability purposes. Data and information regarding the establishment of the definition shall be included in the annual report provided for in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 20-14-27. (Code 1981, § 20-14-33, enacted by Ga. L. 2000, p. 618, § 93; Ga. L. 2004, p. 107, § 21; Ga. L. 2005, p. 798, § 19/SB 35; Ga. L. 2012, p. 341, § 1/SB 410.) 476 20-14-34 20-14-34. School and system report cards; required information; dissemination of reports. (a) Each school year, the office shall prepare and distribute to each school system in the State of Georgia a report card for each school in the school system and for the school system. The report cards shall include performance data on quality of learning, financial efficiency, and school climate as calculated pursuant to Code Section 20-14-33 and based on the most current data available disaggregated by student groups. This report card on schools shall be the official state education performance report and supersedes all other reports that may be issued by departments of the state government for matters of funding, awards, and interventions. (b) The report cards shall include the following information, where applicable: (1) The individual school and school system ratings in a numerical format as provided for in subsection (d) of Code Section 20-14-33; (2) A financial efficiency rating for each school and school system; (3) A school climate rating for each school and school system; (4) An explanation of the criteria that informs the school and school system rating; and (5) An explanation of the criteria that informs the financial efficiency and school climate ratings. (c) Each school year, the office shall prepare and distribute a state-wide report card, aggregated by school systems and disaggregated by student groups, reporting on the performance results of each school and each school system in the state and a rating for each school and each school system as provided for in subsection (d) of Code Section 20-14-33 and subsection (a) of this Code section. (d) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules requiring dissemination of appropriate portions of school and school system report cards annually to the parent, guardian, conservator, or other person having lawful control of each student at the school. On written request, the local school system shall provide a copy of a school or school system report card to any other party. These report cards shall be posted on the Office of Student Achievement website, the Department of Education website, and the existing website of such local school system. (Code 1981, § 20-14-34, enacted by Ga. L. 2000, p. 618, § 93; Ga. L. 2004, p. 107, § 21; Ga. L. 2005, p. 798, § 20/SB 35; Ga. L. 2012, p. 341, § 2/SB 410.) 477 20-14-35 20-14-35. Office powers; on-site audits; reporting findings and recommendations; authorization of other school audits. (a) The office may: (1) Conduct on-site audits of any school at any time, subject to the approval of the director; (2) Raise or lower any performance rating as a result of the audit; and (3) Review school fund accounting information and records to determine effective and efficient expenditure of state funds as allocated. (b) The director shall determine the frequency of on-site audits by the office according to annual comprehensive analyses of student performance and equity in relation to the academic excellence indicators and fund accounting assessments as adopted under subsection (b) of Code Section 20-14-34. (c) In making an on-site school performance audit, the auditor shall obtain information from administrators, teachers, and parents of students enrolled in the local school system. The audit may not be closed until information is obtained from each of those sources. The office shall adopt rules regarding obtaining information from parents and using that information in the auditor’s report and obtaining information from teachers in a manner that prevents a school or school system from screening the information. (d) The auditors shall report to the local board of education, the local school council, and appropriate school administrators and shall report findings and recommendations concerning any necessary improvements or intervention strategies. School audit reports shall be provided to the council and the State Board of Education. (e) The director may authorize other school audits to be conducted under the following circumstances: (1) When excessive numbers of absences of students eligible to be tested on state assessment instruments are determined; or (2) When a school or school system has not provided student performance information to the Department of Education’s educational information system as required under subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-167. (Code 1981, § 20-14-35, enacted by Ga. L. 2000, p. 618, § 93; Ga. L. 2004, p. 107, § 21.) 478 20-14-38 20-14-36. Written procedures; training.