Georgia ranks seventh in the nation for overall education quality, according to an Education Week report released last week.
The annual “Quality Counts” report is an investigation of key education outcomes that provides ranks and grades for each state based on their commitment to improve educational policies and practices.
This year’s report gave Georgia a grade of B-.  Last year, Georgia ranked eighth among all states.  
Additionally, Georgia remained in the top 10 of all states for the second straight year in the development of a rigorous and appropriate accountability system for teachers, along with providing teachers with incentives for certification and performance and enhancing building-level capacity and support.
Finally, Georgia received an A- for the state’s standards, assessment and accountability policies and programs.
Georgia is one of 10 states to have alignment between standards and assessment in the area of social studies and is a national leader in portfolio assessments for students.
“We are very pleased with the overall marks that Education Week gave Georgia for its commitment to education,” State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge said.  “While there is still plenty of work to do to improve education in Georgia, it’s good to see others recognizing some of the improvements that are happening in our state through the extraordinary work of our students, teachers, and leaders.”
Using the metrics within the “Quality Counts” survey, Georgia had growth in a number of student achievement indicators during  2010-11.
Georgia had the sixth-largest scale score gains on the National Assessment of Educational Progress for fourth grade reading.
Georgia also ranked fourth in the Change in AP Scores category, which examines the change in high scores per 100 students between 2000 and 2010. 
Finally, Georgia ranked ninth in the scores of three or higher for each 100 students on the AP tests.
Georgia ranks 24th in the overall school finance analysis and 38th in the adjustment per-pupil expenditures.
“This report demonstrates that improving education for Georgia’s students is more than evaluating a single test score,” Barge said. “We will continue to focus on raising the quality of education so our students are ultimately prepared for college and careers.”