The state's new curriculum, the Georgia Performance Standards, is the fifth-best state curriculum in the nation according to a report released this week. 

The Thomas B. Fordham Institute released its report on all state curricula entitled "The State of State Standards" this week. The report gave Georgia's curriculum an overall grade of B+, up from a C- in 2000, the last time a review was done. Georgia's overall ranking jumped 16 points from 2000. 

"This is great news," said Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox. "Our new curriculum provides a strong foundation for learning for all of our students and is the key to long-term, sustained improvement in student achievement." 

Gov. Sonny Perdue said the Fordham Institute report, coupled with the 2006 SAT Results released earlier this week, show that Georgia education is on the right path. 

“Thanks to the leadership of Superintendent Cox, Georgia is setting a high standard and raising expectations in education by instituting a new, more rigorous curriculum in core subject areas," Gov. Perdue said. "A more rigorous curriculum means students will be better prepared for AP courses, the SAT and college. Most importantly, our students will be more competitive nationally and internationally.”

HIGH MARKS IN ALL AREAS

Over the past couple of years, the Institute has been reviewing different sections of state curricula. The grades were combined to come up with an overall grade of B+ for Georgia. The report reviewed standards in five core areas -- English, U.S. History, Geography/World History, Math and Science.

- The Science standards received a grade of "B," which is up from an "F" in 2000.
- The Geography/World History standards received a grade of "A," up from a "D" in 2000.
- The U.S. History curriculum received a grade of "B," up from a "C" in 2000
- The English and Math standards received grades of "B," the same as 2000.
  
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT

The authors had plenty of praise for Georgia's Curriculum.

- On the Geography/World History Standards: "States seeking strong models for world history standards should have Georgia on their minds." 
- On the Science Standards: "It's a peach of a document." 
- On the Math Standards: "The K-8 standards especially are clear, concise and are generally free of edu-jargon."

The Institute's review of the curriculum has been ongoing over the past few years and does not include the state's revised standards in U.S. History and some revisions to the math standards.

ABOUT THE GEORGIA PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Under the direction of Superintendent Cox, teams of teachers, content experts and academics rewrote Georgia's old curriculum into a set of clear, rigorous standards. 

The Georgia Performance Standards are being rolled out in phases over several years. 

In 2005-2006, students were taught using the new standards in English (all grades), Science (grades 6 and 7, 9-12) and Math (grade 6). 

This school year, students are being taught using the new standards in Math (grades K-2, 7) and Science (grades 3-5).

To see the Fordham Institute "State of State Standards" report, click here.
To see the state rankings, click here.
To get more information on Georgia's new curriculum, click here.
To get more information on subject-specific reviews of the Georgia Performance Standards, click here.