Discussions of school quality often center around school systems as a whole.  ”X County has good schools.”  ”X County has bad schools.”  But with each system comprising so many individual schools, can conclusions really be drawn at a system-wide level?

Based on Metro Atlanta 2011 Elementary School Rankings, it appears the answer to that question is “sometimes.”  Take a look at the table below which shows the percent of schools receiving grades A through F from each school system.

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(Source: whats in a system)

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 elementaryschools 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.   

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