Education in Georgia consists of public and private schools in

Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee and North Carolina; to the northeast by South Carolina; to the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean; to the south by Florida; and to the west by ...

, including the

University System of Georgia The University System of Georgia (USG) is the government agency that includes 26 public institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. It sets goals and dictates gene ...

Technical College System of Georgia The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), formerly known as the Department of Technical and Adult Education (DTAE), is the State of Georgia Government Agency which supervises the U.S. state of Georgia's 22 technical colleges, while also su ...

, private colleges, and secondary and primary schools.

Governance structure

The vast majority of public schools in the state are operated by county-ordered districts, with city-based districts (autonomous from county districts) being a small minority (namely Pelham,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Decatur,

Social Circle In the social sciences, a social group can be defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties ...

, Marietta,

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

Dalton Dalton may refer to: Science * Dalton (crater), a lunar crater * Dalton (program), chemistry software * Dalton (unit) (Da), the atomic mass unit * John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist Entertainment * Dalton (Buffyverse), minor ch ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Gainesville,

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Thomasville, Trion, Valdosta, Vidalia, Bremen,

Buford Buford may refer to: Places United States *Buford, Arkansas *Buford, Colorado, an unincorporated community * Buford, Georgia *Buford Highway corridor, in Fulton, DeKalb, and Gwinnett Counties in Georgia * Buford, North Dakota *Buford, Ohio *Bufo ...

Calhoun John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was the 7th vice president of the United States. Calhoun can also refer to: Surname * Calhoun (surname) Inhabited places in the United States *Calhoun, Georgia *Calhoun, Illinois * Calhoun, Kansas * Calhoun, Kentuc ...

, and

Cartersville Cartersville is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, Bartow County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States; it is located within the northwest edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city ha ...

State Board of Education

The

Georgia Department of Education The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) is an American agency that governs public education in the state of Georgia. The department manages funding and testing for local educational agencies accountable for student achievement. The departmen ...

(GaDOE) administers public education in the state. The department is administered by an elected State Superintendent of Schools. Local municipalities and their respective

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

s operate individual public schools but the GaDOE audits performance of public schools. The GaDOE also makes recommendations to state leaders concerning education spending and policies.

Performance and rankings

Georgia ranked 30th in the nation for educational performance, according to

Education Week ''Education Week'' is an independent news organization that has covered K–12 education since 1981. It is owned by Editorial Projects in Education (EPE), a nonprofit organization, and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland in Greater Washington ...

's Quality Counts 2018 report. The state had earned an overall score of 73.0 out of 100 points. On average, the nation received a score of 75.2; meaning the state ranked slightly below average. Georgia posted a C-plus in the Chance-for-Success category, ranking 33rd on factors that contribute to a person's success both within and outside the K-12 education system. Georgia received a mark of D-plus and finished 37th for School Finance. It ranked 11th with a grade of C on the K-12 Achievement Index.

Secondary schools

In 2016, Georgia had a high school graduation rate of 80.6%, putting it 41st in the country. Georgia

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s (grades nine through twelve) are required to administer a

standardized Standardization or standardisation is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments. Standardization ...

multiple choice Multiple choice (MC), objective response or MCQ (for multiple choice question) is a form of an objective assessment in which respondents are asked to select only correct answers from the choices offered as a list. The multiple choice format is mo ...

End of Course Test The End of Course Test (EOCT, EOC, or EOC Test) is an academic assessment conducted in many states by the State Board of Education. Georgia, for example, tests from the ninth to twelfth grades, and North Carolina tests for any of the four core clas ...

, or EOC, in each of eight core subjects including

Algebra I In contemporary education, mathematics education, known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics – is the practice of teaching, learning and carrying out Scholarly method, scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical knowled ...

Geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ...

, U.S. History,

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

Physical Science Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Phy ...

, Ninth Grade

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

and

Composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

, and American Literature and Composition. The official purpose of the tests is to assess "specific content knowledge and skills." Although a minimum test score is not required for the student to receive

credit Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt) ...

in the course, completion of the test is mandatory. The EOC score comprises 20% of a student's grade in the course. Until 2014, the

Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests The Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) were a set of tests administered at public schools in the state of Georgia that are designed to test the knowledge of first through eighth graders in reading, English/language arts (ELA), and mathemat ...

(CRCT) was taken in 1st-8th grade. The CRCT was replaced by the Georgia Milestones end-of-grade exams for the 2014–15 school year. Through the 2013–14 school year, high school students were also required receive passing scores on four

Georgia High School Graduation Test The Georgia High School Graduation Test, or GHSGT, was administered to all students in the eleventh grade in the US state of Georgia from 1991 to 2013. It determined whether or not a student was eligible to graduate from a Georgia high school. The ...

s (GHSGT) and the Georgia High School Writing Assessment in order to receive a diploma. Subjects assessed included Mathematics, Science, Language Arts, and Social Studies. These tests are initially offered during students' eleventh-grade year, allowing for multiple opportunities to pass the tests before graduation at the end of twelfth grade.GA DOE – Testing – GHSGT
. Retrieved 24 April 2008. These exams were replaced with the redesigned end-of-course exams as part of the Georgia Milestones program.

Higher education

Georgia has 62 public colleges, universities, and technical colleges in addition to over 45 private institutes of higher learning. The

HOPE Scholarship The HOPE Program (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) created in 1993 under the supervision of Georgia Governor Zell Miller, is Georgia's scholarship and grant program that rewards students with financial assistance in degree, diploma, and ...

, funded by the state lottery, was available to all Georgia residents who have graduated from high school with a 3.0 or higher grade point average and who attend a public college or university in the state. The scholarship covers the cost of tuition and provides a stipend for books for up to 120 credit hours. If the student does not maintain a 3.0 average while in college they may lose the scholarship in which case they will have the chance to get it back by bringing their grade point average above a 3.0 within a period of 30 credit hours. This scholarship has had a significant impact on the state university system, increasing competition for admission and increasing the quality of education. In 2011, facing a budget shortfall, the state cut portions of the HOPE scholarship. Bill 326 trimmed scholarships by 90 percent. High school seniors who earn a 3.7 GPA and a 1200 on the SAT will still be able to get a full scholarship, now known as the Zell Miller scholarship, under the new law. Students who previously qualified for HOPE can still receive a scholarship worth 80% of tuition. Current college students are not eligible for the full scholarship amount.

Private Institutions

Notes

External links

2008 AP test results - College Board press releaseGeorgia Education Milestone
{{UnivSysGa