Marietta City Schools’ focus on literacy creates long-term, district-wide success

Marietta, GA — Since 2022, Marietta City Schools (MCS) has outpaced the state and Metro Atlanta in English Language Arts (ELA) across every grade level. Most noticeably, in 3rd grade, MCS growth in the mean scale score over this same period is 17 times greater than the state of Georgia.

"Marietta is recognized as one of the state leaders in literacy - the reason is obvious as you look at our students’ growth over the last four years," said Superintendent Dr. Grant Rivera. "We remain committed to the science of reading, ensuring that every teacher has the training, time, and resources to help every child reach their fullest reading and writing potential.”

Our vision began with the launch of Literacy & Justice for All in 2021. This citywide collaboration, in partnership with the United Way and the Rollins Center for Language and Literacy, was designed to build the deep reading brain of every child, birth through 3rd grade. In MCS, that meant we followed the science and changed our approach to reading instruction and completely changed the face of our elementary classrooms--hiring 35 reading specialists to reduce class size and provide intensive reading support. Last year, we expanded these efforts, crafting an aggressive plan to meet the complex challenge of teaching middle grades students who are behind in reading. The longitudinal results of our work are compelling, especially when compared to the state and metro Atlanta.

During this same four-year period, on the Georgia Milestones, Marietta City Schools saw an 11% increase in the number of students reading at or above grade level—outpacing both metro Atlanta and the state.

This year, Marietta students beat the state in all seven English Language Arts (ELA) assessments. Students receiving special education services and English Learners in Marietta also saw substantial gains in ELA, often outperforming their state-level peers. In all grades, students with disabilities scored higher than the state in mean scale score for ELA.

The data shows the district’s focus on literacy has had a positive impact on student performance across all subject areas. Elementary and middle school students who were immersed in the science of reading for multiple years - which includes 3rd through 7th graders - outpaced the state and metro Atlanta in math, as well.

Similarly, MCS elementary students who experienced the science of reading over the last four years significantly outpaced the state and metro Atlanta in 5th-grade science:

“This level of growth doesn’t happen overnight," said Board Vice-Chair Jaillene Hunter, who also serves on the Georgia Council on Literacy.  "It’s the result of hard work by our teachers, thoughtful investments by our board of education, and the resources and expertise of community partners. We are committed to this work because reading proficiently is critical to success in life.”

Districtwide Notable Achievements:

• West Side Elementary is ranked #1 (out of 1,240) in Georgia for 3rd-grade ELA and Math mean scale scores.
• MCAA is ranked #1 (out of 1,240) in Georgia for 3rd-grade students reading at or above grade level and for the percentage of students scoring at Proficient and Distinguished in Math and ELA.
• Lockheed Elementary is ranked #12 and #47 (out of 1,244) in Georgia for Student Growth Percentile in 4th-grade Math and ELA, respectively.

For a full breakdown of results, click here.