MCS leads Metro Atlanta in student growth, among Georgia’s top-improving districts

MARIETTA, GA — Marietta City Schools (MCS) continues to show strong and sustained academic growth across all grade levels, according to the latest College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) results released by the Georgia Department of Education.

Since the CCRPI redesign in 2018, Marietta’s elementary scores in Content Mastery have grown nearly six times faster than the state average—up 13.8 points compared to Georgia’s 2.3-point gain. This year’s results once again place Marietta among Georgia’s top ten fastest-improving districts statewide, with students outperforming both state and regional peers in nearly every major CCRPI category.

“The sustained growth we’re seeing across Marietta reflects strong teaching, clear priorities, and students who continue to rise to the challenge,” said Superintendent Dr. Grant Rivera. “Our focus on literacy has strengthened every part of instruction, and it’s one of the reasons our achievement continues to outpace the state. This progress is the result of intentional leadership from our Board, the skill of our teachers, and a shared belief in what our students can accomplish.”

Understanding CCRPI

CCRPI is Georgia’s statewide accountability system that measures how well schools prepare students for success. It evaluates multiple aspects of performance, including:

• Content Mastery: Achievement in core subjects

• Progress: Academic growth from year to year

• Closing Gaps: Reducing disparities among student groups (year-over-year comparison not available due to changing testing standards)

• Readiness: Preparedness for the next educational level

• Graduation Rate: Percentage of students graduating within four or five years

Key Highlights

• #1 in Metro Atlanta for Elementary Growth

  • Marietta’s elementary schools ranked first among Metro Atlanta districts and eighth statewide in Progress—the measure of how much students grow academically each year.

• Record-High Content Mastery

  • Elementary Content Mastery climbed to fourth in Metro RESA, behind Buford, Forsyth, and Fulton, with growth nearly six times faster than the state since 2018. MCS posted its highest districtwide results since 2018, with nine of eleven schools improving.

    • Elementary: +13.8 since 2018 (Georgia +2.3)

    • Middle: +5.0 (Georgia +0.5)

    • High: +6.5 (Georgia +2.3)

• Perfect Scores Across the District

  • Multiple schools achieved perfect scores this year, including Marietta Center for Advanced Academics, West Side Elementary, and A.L. Burruss Elementary in Content Mastery and/or Progress. In total, six of eight elementary schools earned a perfect score in at least one category.

• Top Performing Schools

  • Several schools saw double-digit gains across CCRPI components.

    • A.L. Burruss Elementary posted the district’s largest jump in Content Mastery since 2018, rising 23.7 points.

    • Lockheed Elementary led the district in Progress growth with a 20.1-point increase over the same period.

• High School Among Georgia’s Fastest-Improving

  • Marietta High School ranked second in Metro Atlanta for student Progress and posted a 92.2% graduation rate—the district’s highest since the CCRPI redesign and third-best among Metro Atlanta districts (behind Forsyth and Buford).
    The school also continues to narrow the performance gap with Cobb County, outpacing it in growth across nearly every measure since 2018.
     

Content Mastery and Progress Growth Since 2018

Marietta’s steady progress in recent years is best seen through its performance in Content Mastery and Progress, the two components that most directly measure student learning and growth. Since the CCRPI redesign in 2018, Marietta has outpaced Georgia across every grade band, with elementary gains nearly six times the state average and continued improvement at the middle and high school levels.

Marietta City Schools remains one of Georgia’s most consistently improving districts since the CCRPI redesign. From elementary literacy to high school graduation, these results reflect years of coordinated effort across every school and department—and a shared commitment to helping every student thrive.

For more information about Marietta City Schools’ CCRPI results, click here.