As parents make decisions about the schools their children attend, having access to useful performance data is informative.  As a resident of Atlanta and someone interested in public education, I have been surprised at the lack of accessible information.  So, I set out to compile a ranking of academic performance in Metro Atlanta´s public schools.

I have ranked each of Metro Atlanta´s public middle schools considering both the school´s overall performance (40%) and it´s performance relative to peer schools (60%).  Peer schools are schools whose students have a similar level of needs.  In my analysis, economic disadvantage, English language learners, ethnicity, and special education are each considered in determining a school´s level of needs.  A more technical explanation is provided in the linked methodology.   

In addition to academic quality, many parents want thier children to attend diverse schools.  Therefore, I have also presented an index of diversity for each school.  The diversity index does not impact the evaluation of academic performance.

As readers review my findings, they will see the following four data points presented for each school:

• Academic Performance: A rating from 1 to 10, which reflects the school’s percentile ranking among peer and Georgia state schools.

• Grade: A rating from A – F for each school.  The ratings are broken down by the following percentiles:  A – Top 20 Percent; B – Next 25 Percent; C – Next 30 Percent; D – Next 15 Percent; F – Bottom 10 Percent

• Diversity Index:  A rating from 1 to 10 reflecting the ethnic and socio-economic diversity of the school.

• Needs Index:  A rating from 1 to 10 reflecting the level of student needs within the school.  This rating is used to determine which other Gerogia State schools are peers of the school being analyzed.

As with any ranking, the results depend on the methodology, so if you are interested, I encourage you to read the complete methodology here.  For a Searchable PDF, click here: Grading Atlanta’s 2011 Rankings of Metro Atlanta’s Middle Schools.  

You can also check out elementary school information here:  Metro Atlanta 2011 Elementary School Rankings.

(Source: 2011 Metro Atlanta Middle School Ratings)