Our Schools Introduction

ABOUT THIS SECTION

■ What it is: A comprehensive look at 192 public schools in 13 counties in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia.

■ Project editor: Chris Vass, Sunday editor.

■ Project design, statistical research, school graphics: Paul Schulz, deputy design editor.

■ Cover design: Beck Towery and Lin C. Parker, design editor. Staff photo by Shane McMillian.

DEFINITIONS AND SOURCES

■ Status* — Rating. Tennessee ratings: Good, target, school improvement 1, school improvement 2, corrective action, restructuring 1, restructuring 2 and SEA/LEA reconstitution plan. Target schools have missed a federal benchmark in at least one area for the first time. Georgia ratings: distinguished, adaquate, adequate — did not make adaquate yearly progress, needs improvement.

■ Students — Total. Derived from state ethnic breakdowns of black, white and others.

■ Attendance — Percentage. Tennessee: Students with fewer than 10 absences per year. Georgia: Students with fewer than 15 absences per year.

■ Suspended students — Total.

■ Expelled students — Total.

■ Promotion (elementary and middle schools) — Percentage. Students promoted to the next grade.

■ Held back (Georgia) — Total. Students not passed to the next grade.

■ Graduation (rate, high schools) — Percentage. Ontime graduates with a regular high school diploma.

■ Teacher/ratio — Student total divided by number of teachers available to instruct in the classroom.

■ Writing grade (Tennessee) — Letter grade A through F. The Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program Writing Assessment requires 5th-, 8th- and 1th-grade students to write an essay in response to an assigned topic within a limited time period. A score of at least 3 on a 6-point scale must be obtained to satisfy proficiency requirements for No Child Left Behind.

■ Student diversity — Totals. Student body by race/ethnicity of white, black and others based on net enrollment.

■ Economically disadvantaged students — Percentage. Students whose families meet income criteria making them eligible to receive free or reduced meals at school, as determined by federal guidelines.

■ Student subject proficiency — Percentage. Students scoring proficient or better in math and reading/language testing. Math and reading scores on scale of 0 to 100. Writing scores on scale of 0 to 6. Top five bars represent scores for the school the past five years. Gray bar represents the 2006-2007 score for the school system in which the school is located. Black bar represents 2006-2007 score of the state in which the school is located.

SOURCES

TENNESSEE: Tennessee Department of Education Report Card 2007 (Web site: www.state.tn.us/ education/reportcard/) and individual school districts.

GEORGIA: Georgia Department of Education Report Card 2007 (Web site: www.doe.k12.ga.us/) and individual school districts. Web site: www.doe.k12.ga.us/. Latest available data is from 2006-2007 school year unless noted otherwise. Some totals do not add up to 100 percent due to rounding of numbers.