The Clayton County Public School System has performed as well as other school systems in the state, and in some cases succeeded the state, on the standardized tests administered to all grade levels, which is especially true with regard to economically disadvantaged children.

This was the message Clayton County Public Schools Interim School Superintendent Luvenia Jackson, Ed.D. and Area II Superintendent Anthony Smith, Ed.D., brought to a recent meeting of the Clayton County Minister’s Conference following the recent visit to the school system by Mark Elgart, president and CEO of AdvancED, an arm of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

This visit came after SACS “letter of concern” sent to the school board in September

As to graduation percentages with CCPS seniors designated as economically disadvantaged, Jackson said Clayton’s percentage from 2008 through 2011 was greater than all other metro area school systems.

“Clayton County Public Schools had the second highest average graduation rate for this economically disadvantaged category for this period,” she said.

In his address to the conference regarding graduation rate comparisons, Smith said that in 2009, Georgia saw 78.9 of its seniors graduate while Clayton saw 79.7 percent.

In 2011, both Clayton County and the state saw its graduation rate grow with Georgia’s rate topping 80.9 percent while Clayton was immediately behind with 80.2 percent.

In regard to the Georgia High School Writing Test for all students for the 2011-2012 school year, Clayton County had 85 percent to pass compared to the state’s 91 percent. As for this school year, Clayton County matched the state in those passed the writing test, as each had 93 percent to pass.

For the same year, those taking the Georgia High School Writing Test for the first time, Clayton again matched the state with each recording 95 percent passage rate.

Smith also looked at the percentage of students who met or exceeded AYP standards in the Georgia High School Writing Test.

In his power-point presentation to the conference, Smith showed that during the 2010-2011 school year, 94 percent of all Clayton students taking the GHSWT met or exceeded the standards compared to 96 percent for the state. However, for economically disadvantaged students, Clayton test-takers scored higher than the state by a percentage point with Clayton showing 94 percent meeting or exceeding standards while Georgia slipped to 93 percent.

Jackson said data she has collected indicates that the percentage of economically disadvantaged students in the state has increased during the 2008 through 2011 school years.

“However, the data further indicates that Clayton County Public Schools has seen a similar increase, but at a higher percentage,” Jackson said.