CCSD Hits All-Time High on State Accountability Measure

The Cherokee County School District earned its highest scores ever on the state’s College and Career Ready Performance Index with impressive gains across all levels – elementary, middle, and high.

The Georgia Department of Education today released 2025 College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) scores, which combine student achievement using 2024-25 Georgia Milestones Assessment System test scores, student course enrollment, and Class of 2025 high school graduation rates into four category scores.  While results from these individual measures are released throughout the year, the CCRPI process uses additional formulas to tie different data sources into a comprehensive score.

Most notable in this year’s results are the gains in Progress, the CCRPI measure that indicates the rate of learning growth in CCSD compared to academically similar students across the state.  A nearly nine-point growth in high school on the Progress component puts CCSD high schools at 94.0, nearly 12 points above the state and highest in the region.  Similar strength was achieved in elementary schools (+4 points) and middle schools (+4.7 points) indicating teachers in CCSD are providing an opportunity for kids to grow more than anywhere in the state.

“Our students’ incredible performance is a testament to their dedication and the talent of our teachers, support staff and school administrators to further extend and elevate our district’s history of academic success,” Superintendent of Schools Mary Elizabeth Davis said. 

Another compelling outcome is the Closing Gaps in student achievement measure.  Both CCSD high schools and middle schools lead the state with a score of 100.  This is further evidence that all students are making achievement in core areas of math, English language arts, science, and social studies.  In middle school, English Learners (students whose parents speak English as a second language) exceeded state-set achievement targets in all four content areas.  In high school, English Learners and students with disabilities exceeded the achievement targets in all four core areas.  

“The main role of the School Board is to make sure all our students are achieving to their best potential.  It’s a privilege to work alongside board members who always keep their focus on students and what’s best for them.  I’m proud of the team effort of every student, their families, our employees and our board members, who helped us achieve this goal,” School Board Chair Janet Read Welch said.  “Congratulations on these great scores!”

The district’s CCRPI scores not only show improved student performance from the previous year but also continue to exceed statewide averages. Superintendent Davis and her senior staff will present a detailed report on the scores at the School Board’s Nov. 20 meeting, with the report to then be posted on the CCSD website’s Accountability page online here.

For Content Mastery, which measures student achievement in core content areas, CCSD earned scores of 79.6 for elementary, up from 79.3 the previous school year, and exceeding the state score of 68.0; 78.9 for middle, up from 74.2, and exceeding Georgia’s 65.6; and 85.8 for high school, up from 81.7, and exceeding Georgia’s 69.2.  These scores represent increases for 12 of CCSD’s elementary schools and all middle and high schools, with improvements of 4.7 points by middle schools and 4.1 by high schools.  

For Progress, which compares how students, by similar academic achievement levels, are improving in academic achievement, CCSD earned scores of 93.6 for elementary, up from 89.6 the previous school year, and exceeding the state score of 86.1; 86.1 for middle, up from 81.4, and exceeding Georgia’s 83.1; and 94.0 for high school, up from 85.4, and exceeding Georgia’s 82.2.  These scores represent increases for 17 of CCSD’s elementary schools, all middle schools, and six high schools, with improvements of 8.6 points by high schools, 4.7 by middle schools, and 4.0 by elementary schools.  

For Closing Gaps, which compares how students, by student groups, are improving in academic achievement, CCSD earned scores of 74.1 for elementary which is comparable to Georgia’s 75.0; 100 for middle which exceeds Georgia’s 86.3; and 100 for high school exceeding Georgia’s 71.3.  These are not comparable to the previous school year’s scores due to the state’s implementation of new math standards.

For Readiness, which measures overall preparation for college and career success, CCSD earned scores of 87.7 for elementary, down 0.3 points from 88.0 the previous school year, and exceeding the state score of 84.1; 86.7 for middle, up 0.5 from 86.2, and exceeding Georgia’s 83.2; and 79.7 for high school, down 0.3 from 80.0, and exceeding Georgia’s 75.4.  These scores represent increases for 12 of CCSD’s elementary schools, five middle schools, and one high school.  

For high school Graduation Rate, CCSD earned an overall four-year rate of 92.8 for the Class of 2025, down 0.8 points from 93.6 for the previous year, exceeding the state average of 87.2.  This rate represents increases for three high schools: Creekview HS, River Ridge HS, and Woodstock HS.

“We know there’s more work to be done but there is no team of professionals in public education bringing more talent and dedication to the classroom than our team – our teachers are our profession’s best,” Superintendent Davis said.  “Our School Board has focused our community’s public education investment directly into our classrooms, through competitive teacher compensation, standards aligned instructional resources, and more dedicated resources for student learning.  This investment, coupled with our teachers’ extraordinary skill and commitment, leads to our students learning more, growing more, and achieving more in our classrooms than they could anywhere else.”

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