Section 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;

   (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.