GeorgiaGeorgia

State Summary Report Card (PDF)
Complete State Report Card (PDF)

Performance Categories

Preparation

C+

Not Improved

Georgia's fairly low performance in educating its young population could limit the state's access to a competitive workforce and weaken its economy.

  • Eighth graders perform poorly in math, science, reading, and writing.
  • Georgia is among the poorest-performing states in high school completion. Only 84% percent of blacks have a high school credential, compared with 89% of whites.

Participation

D-

Improved

College opportunities for young and working-age adults are poor.

  • The likelihood of enrolling in college by age 19 is low, primarily because the state has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the country.
  • Twenty-eight percent of black young adults are enrolled in college, compared with 39% of whites.

Affordability

F

Not Improved

Higher education has become less affordable for students and their families.

  • Poor and working-class families must devote 19% of their income, even after aid (including HOPE scholarships), to pay for costs at public four-year colleges.
  • The state makes almost no investment in need-based financial aid.

Completion

B-

Improved

Georgia is a top performer in awarding certificates and degrees relative to the number of students enrolled, but few students attain a bachelor's degree in a timely manner.

  • Forty-eight percent of college students complete a bachelor's degree within six years.
  • Forty-three percent of blacks graduate within six years, compared with 49% of whites.

Benefits

B

Improved

Only a fair proportion of residents have a bachelor's degree, yet the economic benefits to the state are very high.

  • Nineteen percent of blacks have a bachelor's degree, compared with 33% of whites.
  • If all racial/ethnic groups had the same educational attainment and earnings as whites, total annual personal income in the state would be about $24 billion higher.

Learning

I

Like all states, Georgia receives an "Incomplete" in Learning because there is not sufficient data to allow meaningful state-by-state comparisons.

 

Change Over Time: Key Indicators

The following reflects Georgia ’s performance and progress since the early 1990s on several key indicators.

Preparation

The percentage of young adults in Georgia who earn a high school diploma has decreased slightly since the early 1990s. High school completion is well below the U.S. average and the top-performing states.

Participation

College enrollment of young adults in Georgia has improved substantially since the early 1990s. Compared with the national average and the top states, however, considerably fewer young adults are enrolled in Georgia (in percentages).

The enrollment of working-age adults, relative to the number of residents without a bachelor’s degree, has declined in Georgia —but not as substantially as it has across the nation and in the best-performing states. The percentage attending college in Georgia is well below the U.S. average and the top states.

Affordability

The share of family income, even after financial aid, needed to pay for college has risen substantially. To attend public two-year colleges in Georgia , students and families pay less than the U.S. average but more than those in the best-performing states. To attend public four-year colleges, they pay about the same as those in the best states, which is much less than the national average.

Completion

The number of undergraduate credentials and degrees awarded in Georgia, relative to the number of students enrolled, has increased since the early 1990s. Georgia surpasses the U.S. average and is the top state on this measure.

Benefits

The percentage of residents who have a bachelor’s degree has increased considerably in Georgia, but is slightly below the U.S. average and below the top states.