The Gainesville and Hall County school systems fell below the state average on school grades released by the Georgia Department of Education Friday.
Overall grades for Georgia’s schools fell in the 2018-2019 school year, with two state leaders repeating their call to overhaul grading methods.
The typical school statewide scored 75.9 points on a 100-point scale, down from 76.6 points last year. Performance rose in high schools, but fell slightly in elementary schools and more broadly in middle schools.
The Gainesville schools' score was 69.2 (elementary school 70.4; middle school 61.7, and high school 73.2). The score for the Hall County system was 72.4 (elementary 72.8, middle school 70.1, and high school 73.3).
Georgia’s system seeks to grade schools on student content mastery, academic progress, and readiness, whether underperforming groups are closing gaps, and whether high school students graduate on time.
State officials say scores fell because of lower scores on progress and closing gaps.
Both state Superintendent Richard Woods and Gov. Brian Kemp say they want changes, with Woods repeating his call for a way to measure schools that relies less on standardized test scores.
Click here for a detailed report on how Hall County schools fair and follow this link for results from the Gainesville City School System.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)