Fourth and eighth graders enrolled in a Georgia or Atlanta public charter school outperformed their traditional peers on the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in math and reading. The results were especially striking for Black charter school students who scored significantly higher than Black traditional students across the state and in the city of Atlanta. Currently, more than half, 52%, of Georgia charter school students and 77% of charter students in Atlanta Public Schools are Black.

“These scores show the vital role that public charter schools play in boosting achievement in Georgia’s public education system—particularly for students of color,” said Tony Roberts, President and CEO of the Georgia Charter Schools Association. “Charter schools meet individual student needs and have a proven record of delivering a high-quality education to children in our state.”

Georgia’s charter fourth-grade students surpassed traditional students’ scores by an average of 8 points in math and 14 points in reading. The state’s charter eighth graders received a math score that was 4 points above traditional students and a reading score that was 8 points higher.

Georgia’s Black charter school students scored above their traditional peers in fourth-grade math (22 points), fourth-grade reading (23 points), eighth-grade math (11 points) and eighth-grade reading (10 points).

Meanwhile, students enrolled in a charter school within Atlanta Public Schools also exceeded the average scores of their traditional peers. District fourth graders outperformed their traditional peers by 10 points in math and 6 points in reading. Atlanta’s charter eighth graders received an average math score that was 12 points higher and 7 points above traditional students in reading.

Black students attending an APS charter school scored above their peers in fourth-grade math (16 points), fourth-grade reading (13 points), eighth-grade math (11 points), and eighth-grade reading (10 points).

Although Georgia’s and Atlanta’s charter eighth and fourth graders outperformed traditional students in 2022, their overall scores were down from pre-pandemic NAEP results in 2019.

“We all recognize that significant learning loss resulted from pandemic-related disruptions,” said Roberts. “But the good news is that Georgia charter schools are rising to the challenge by accelerating learning, closing achievement gaps and addressing the social and emotional needs of their students.”

The Georgia Department of Education, reported that the percentages of students performing at the NAEP Basic and NAEP Proficient levels in 2022 were not significantly different than 2019 in most subject areas. Nationally, a majority of states saw scores decrease for fourth-and eighth-graders in math and reading between 2019 and 2022.