NOTES ABOUT THE 1999 FINDINGS: GEORGIA
These pages present highlights for your state from the 1999 National Education Goals Report and the companion 1999 Data Volume. The annual Goals Report uses 27 national and 34 state-level indicators to measure progress made toward the eight National Education Goals since 1990, when the Goals were established.
This fact sheet summarizes your state’s progress in key educational areas during the 1990s. Please note the following points:
Goal 3: Student Achievement and Citizenship
Goal 1: Ready to Learn
Goal 2: School Completion
Goal 3: Student Achievement and Citizenship
Goal 5: Mathematics and Science
7. Types of information presented: Four categories of information are provided for your state:
a. Highest-Performing States are states that have performed well in comparison to others. This does not mean that the Goals Panel considers performance in these states to be as high as it should be in order to meet the Goal. It is simply a means of recognizing those states that are doing particularly well relative to others, and that are closest to achieving the Goal by this measure of progress.
b. Most-Improved States are those that made the greatest improvements over time. These states may not yet be among the highest-performing states in the nation, but they were the most successful at pushing their performance in the right direction. "Most-improved" does not necessarily mean that the Goals Panel considers the amount of progress made to be sufficient. It is simply a means of recognizing those states that have made the greatest progress toward the Goal by this measure.
c. Areas of Improvement lists each area in which your state’s performance has improved, compared to where it stood at the beginning of the decade.
d. Areas of Decline lists each area in which your state’s performance has declined, compared to where it stood at the beginning of the decade.
Copies of both reports are available on the Goals Panel’s Web site, at www.negp.gov
GEORGIA – Data Highlights
1999 National Education Goals Report
I. HIGHEST-PERFORMING
Georgia placed among the highest-performing states in the nation on 1 measure of progress during the 1990s:
Goal 1: Ready to Learn
1. the percentage of infants born with one or more of four health risks (31%).
II. MOST-IMPROVED
Georgia placed among the most-improved states in the nation on 2 measures of progress during the 1990s:
Goal 1: Ready to Learn
1. increasing the percentage of mothers who received early prenatal care; and
Goal 2: School Completion
2. reducing the percentage of dropouts in Grades 9-12.
III. AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
Georgia improved on 9 measures of progress toward the Goals during the 1990s:
Goal 1: Ready to Learn
1. Georgia reduced the percentage of infants born with one or more of four health risks (from 35% in 1990, to 31% in 1997).
2. Georgia increased the percentage of mothers who received early prenatal care (from 73% in 1990, to 86% in 1997).
3. Georgia increased the number of children with disabilities enrolled in preschool (from 24 per 1,000 3- to 5-year-olds in 1991, to 42 per 1,000
3- to 5-year-olds in 1998).
Goal 2: School Completion
4. Georgia decreased the percentage of dropouts in Grades 9-12 (from 9% in 1994, to 8% in 1997).
Goal 3: Student Achievement and Citizenship
5. Georgia increased the numbers of Advanced Placement examinations receiving grades high enough to qualify students for college credit. (The number of AP exams receiving a grade of 3 or higher increased from 49 per 1,000 11th and 12th graders in 1991, to 80 per 1,000 11th and 12th graders in 1999.)
Goal 5: Mathematics and Science
6. Georgia increased the proportion of degrees earned by all students that were awarded in mathematics and science (from 38% in 1991, to 41% in 1996).
7. Georgia increased the proportion of degrees earned by female students that were awarded in mathematics and science (from 33% in 1991, to 37% in 1996).
Goal 6: Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning
8. Georgia increased the percentage of U.S. citizens who reported that they registered to vote (from 62% in 1988, to 68% in 1996).
9. Georgia increased the percentage of high school graduates who immediately enrolled in college in any state (from 54% in 1992, to 56% in 1996).
IV. AREAS OF DECLINE
There are 3 measures of progress where Georgia’s performance has declined during the 1990s:
Goal 4: Teacher Education and Professional Development
1. The percentage of public secondary school teachers who held a teaching certificate in their main teaching assignment decreased from 98% in 1991, to 94% in 1994.
Goal 5: Mathematics and Science
2. The percentage of degrees earned by minority students that were awarded in mathematics and science decreased from 44% in 1991, to 42% in 1996.
Goal 7: Safe, Disciplined, and Alcohol- and Drug-free Schools
3. The percentage of public secondary teachers who reported that student disruptions interfered with their teaching increased from 37% in 1991, to 46% in 1994.
This information may be viewed on-line: www.negp.gov/issues/publication/99statefact/ga.htm