What we know about our
Community…
Superior student performance on the SAT, the primary college
readiness measure in Georgia, is a fundamental indicator of
quality learning and school system excellence to all of our
stakeholders.
Superior student performance on the SAT is of primary
importance to the business & community
stakeholders of Forsyth County Schools.
What we know about our
Community…
College-bound students & parents in our community expect
the school system to provide a K-12 education that prepares
students for success at the college of their choice.
Forsyth County Schools must ensure we provide collegebound students with support, resources, and
incentives that maximize student college
readiness, with primary focus on the SAT.
What we know about
SAT Performance…
Students who excel in academically rigorous coursework-particularly in the core academics of English, Math, Science, Social
Studies, and Foreign Languages--tend to be better prepared for
college & excel on the SAT.
Students who participate in SAT test preparation activities prior to
taking the SAT tend to perform at significantly higher levels on the
SAT than students who do not.
What we know about FCS
SAT Performance…
Forsyth County Schools currently ranks 7th in the state in
student performance on the SAT.
Forsyth County Schools currently ranks 5th among 14
Metropolitan Atlanta school systems in student performance
on the SAT.
Forsyth County Schools currently ranks 6th
among 6 geographically & demographically
similar areas in Metro Atlanta.
What we know about FCS
SAT Performance…
Overall student performance on the SAT (combined Reading,
Math & Writing Sections) is strong & showing improvement:
2007
2006
2005
Score
GA Rank
Metro Rank
Region Rank
1546
1538
--
7th
12th
--
5th
5th
--
6th
6th
--
Region rank was determined by comparing FCS to other Metro ATL school systems with
schools in the top 100 in SAT Performance that shared geographic & demographic
characteristics with our system. The 5 regions FCS was compared with are Cherokee,
Cobb, Fayette, Gwinnett, and North Fulton.
What we know about
Forsyth County Schools…
All four of our high schools currently have some independent
initiatives in place that we believe will lead greater college
readiness and improved student performance on the SAT in
2007-08:
• Specific SAT-related Instructional Activities
• Academically Rigorous Curriculum
• SAT Preparation Opportunities (online & traditional)
What we believe…
College-bound students in Forsyth County
Schools should be achieving levels of
superior performance on the SAT.
Forsyth County Schools has all of the
resources needed to support superior
college readiness and student
performance on the primary
measure of readiness, the SAT.
What we believe…
Students in Forsyth County Schools
can lead the region, state & nation in
college readiness and SAT
performance with community
involvement and the support of a
focused, district-wide initiative for
improvement.
What we plan on doing…
Working with business partners & the Forsyth County
Chamber of Commerce to organize a Task Force that will
plan a district-wide strategy to improve student SAT
performance through:
•
Academic Rigor in Curriculum & Instruction
•
SAT / ACT Test Preparation Opportunities
•
Advisement & Guidance Programs
•
School & Student Incentives
•
Stakeholder Communication
Where we are in the plan…
As of today, we have:
•
Presented the initiative to the Board of Education
•
Named FCS Co-Chair, Mr. Michel Satterfield
•
Named Business / Community Co-Chair, Mr. Tracy Moon
•
Completed Draft Timeline for Task Force Work
•
Contacted High Schools for Teacher, Student & Parent Reps
•
Compiled Preliminary SAT Performance Data for Comparison
•
Begun conversations w/ school & system leaders.
•
Set up a webpage & blog for feedback.
•
Organized & structured Task Force.
Where we want to go next…
Our next steps will be to:
•
Finalize Task Force & sub-committee membership
•
Organize Kick Off & Initial Task Force Meetings
•
Publicize initiative in our system
•
Publicize initiative in our community through local media outlets
•
Begin Task Force work
How will we define success ?
Providing a greater range of high quality, focused & organized
district-wide strategies with the goal of improving overall student
college readiness, focusing specifically on SAT Performance.
Greater student participation in college readiness opportunities
(AP / IB Courses, SAT Preparation, etc.)
Improved readiness for all college-bound Forsyth County students
as measured by SAT scores, ACT scores, participation in AP / IB
curriculum, AP / IB exam results, college
acceptance data, and stakeholder survey data.