Barrow County outlines new strategic scorecard, warns climate-star ratings are a baseline

Barrow County school leaders on Tuesday unveiled a district strategic scorecard designed to track performance across student outcomes, fiscal health and operations, and said recently released Georgia school climate star ratings will serve only as a baseline.

Dr. Locket, who walked the board through the strategy map and performance objectives, said each objective has two to four key performance indicators and that the scorecard incorporates state-published metrics such as CCRPI components and the financial-efficiency star rating. "We want metrics that are robust but not overwhelming," Dr. Locket said, explaining the district'level goal-setting for five years of growth and the color-coded progress indicators that will follow once embargoed state data are released.

The district also described how the Georgia Department of Education'overhauled school climate surveys and calculations for 2024'25. Jenny Persinger, who presented the star-rating methodology, said the new system isolates four components: student attendance, safety and serious incidents measured per 100 students, discipline incidents calculated across full-year enrollment, and revamped climate surveys with required 51% participation at the school level for students, staff and teachers. Persinger emphasized the state asked districts to treat these 2024'25 results as a baseline and not to use them for accountability decisions.

Persinger told the board that the revisions delayed the release of the star ratings and that the district has had only about a month to analyze the data. "This will serve as baseline for us moving forward and then we'll continue to make improvements," she said, adding the calculation changes mean some cut scores and comparability methods are newly constructed and not directly comparable to prior star reports.

Board members asked for a calculation guide and for clarity about how the four components translate into a five'star summary; Persinger said a full calculation guide is available and that staff can provide disaggregated component scores. Dr. Locket said the scorecard will be posted publicly in Simbli once state embargoes lift and that the board had set an initial goal of 100% of schools achieving at least four stars on the new school climate rating.

The presentation also noted safeguards and incentives incorporated into the new star framework, including credit for verified safety preparedness (Ready Georgia Seal) and sustained MTSS/PBIS implementation. District leaders warned that, while the system rewards fidelity and safety, it also could create perverse incentives if not paired with an expectation of full reporting; Persinger said district leaders have made clear to principals that accurate reporting is expected even if it may negatively affect a school's star rating.

Next steps: staff will publish the strategic plan and scorecard publicly when embargoed state metrics are released and will update board reports with disaggregated climate-component data and the district'level growth slopes used to measure multi-year progress.