2 Hall schools included on state's list of Alert Schools

ATLANTA - Two schools in Hall County and one in Gwinett are on the list of Alert Schools released Thursday by the state Department of Education.

According to state school officials, Alert Schools are identified to address the need to raise student achievement on statewide assessments in the areas of graduation rate for high schools and subgroup performance and subject performance for elementary and middle schools. The criteria used to identify Alert Schools include:

(1) Graduation Alert Schools: High Schools whose subgroup graduation rate falls at or below the third standard deviation compared to the statewide subgroup average

(2) Subgroup Alert Schools: Schools whose subgroup performance on any statewide assessment falls at or below the third deviation compared to the subgroup's state average

(3) Subject Alert Schools: Schools whose subject area performance on any statewide assessment falls at or below the third deviation compared to the subject's state average

There are 31 schools on the list including Tadmore Elementary and Lanier Career Academy in Hall County and Phoenix High in Gwinnett. )Click on the link below for a link to a list of all the schools in the state which are included.)

BACKGROUND

As of March 30, 2012, Georgia was one of only 10 states to have been granted a waiver from No Child Left Behind (NCLB). No longer will Georgia be bound by the narrow definitions of success found in NCLB. The waiver enables the state to hold schools accountable and reward them for the work they do in all subjects and with all students.

In order to receive the waiver, the U.S. Department of Education required that states identify Title I Priority Schools, Focus Schools, and Reward Schools (details listed below). Achievement data from all core content areas and graduation rate data will be used to identify Priority and Focus Schools, which will replace the current Needs Improvement Schools designation. Reward Schools