Child Welfare Ledger
Where Georgia stands on high school graduation, how it is changing, and the 31 risk factors linked to it.
This is Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice's effort to bring together as much publicly available data as we can to explain how and whether Georgia's children and youth are supported as they need to be, and to identify what data is not available.
Current position
Graduation at a glance
Four-year graduation rate
Georgia, all students, classes of 2018 to 2025
Source: GOEWS downloadable data, Graduation Rate files. Counts students who started ninth grade together and received a regular diploma within four years.
By student group, class of 2025
Differences between groups should not be read as effects of the group itself; groups also differ in income, school resources, exposure to discipline, and housing stability.
Risk factors
31 risk factors in five groups
Data quality combines validity, reliability and research evidence (Get the Data report, Annex C). Good ●●● Fair ●●○ Weak ●○○ Select a loaded factor's name for its trend and detail.
Student
The student's own experiences, health and progress at school.10 risks7 good · 3 fair
- 20.4%2024-25Good ●●●
- Grades, course failure and credits
Students in grades 9 to 12 who dropped out during the year (stand-in)2.4%2024-25Fair ●●○ - 12.5%2024-25Good ●●●
- 12,3612025Good ●●●
- 2.4%2024-25Good ●●●
- 15.0%2023-24Fair ●●○
- 5.8%2023-24Good ●●●
- 16.42024Good ●●●
- 13.5%2024-25Good ●●●
- 12%2024-25Fair ●●○
Attendance
Students chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), Georgia, 2018 to 2025 Good ●●●
Source: GOEWS downloadable data, Attendance files. School years ending as shown. The 2020 figure covers a year cut short by school closures. The scoping report names the Georgia Insights dashboard as the best source; the state's downloadable Attendance files carry the same figures in a form a script can read, and are used here.
By student group, 2024-25
See every district · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Grades, course failure and credits
Students in grades 9 to 12 who dropped out during the year (stand-in), Georgia, 2018 to 2025 Fair ●●○
Source: GOEWS downloadable data, 9-12 Dropout Rate files. A stand-in. The state does not publish grades, course failures or credits; the dropout rate is the closest published measure of students falling off track.
By student group, 2024-25
See every district · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Behavior
Students with at least one discipline incident during the year, Georgia, 2014 to 2025 Good ●●●
Source: GOEWS K-12 Student Discipline Dashboard data (DISCIPLINE_SCHOOL_CHARACTERISTICS). District and school figures are published. The statewide figure is the share from summed district counts; the dashboard publishes no statewide row.
See every district · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Juvenile justice involvement
Youth referred to juvenile court during the year (unique youth), Georgia, 2010 to 2025 Good ●●●
Source: Georgia Juvenile Justice Data Clearinghouse, raw data file (one row per youth per year, all court types), by county and state. Counts each youth once per year in each county where they had a referral, and once statewide. Calendar years. The Clearinghouse dashboard counts referrals, which can be several per youth, and its displayed totals differ from this file (the raw file posted June 2026 shows 29,063 offenses for 2025; the dashboard displayed 31,461 referrals in October 2026). A rate per 1,000 youth needs county youth population from the Census and is planned.
See every county · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Grade retention
Students held back a grade (all grades), Georgia, 2018 to 2025 Good ●●●
Source: GOEWS downloadable data, Retained files. Share of enrolled students retained, from the state's published counts in its Retained files (the same counts behind the Report Card figure the scoping report names).
See every district · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Mental health
Students who felt depressed, sad or withdrawn on 10 or more of the past 30 days, Georgia, 2019 to 2024 Fair ●●○
Source: Georgia Student Health Survey, state and district workbooks (item: "In the past 30 days, on how many days have you felt depressed, sad or withdrawn?"). Share of survey respondents in grades 6 to 12 choosing 10 to 19 days, 20 to 29 days, or all 30 days. Voluntary survey; participation varies. Districts where fewer than 30 students answered are left blank, because a handful of answers would not represent the district. The threshold of 10 days is this site's choice; the full response distribution is in the download.
See every district · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Substance use
Students who drank alcohol on at least one day in the past 30 days, Georgia, 2019 to 2024 Good ●●●
Source: Georgia Student Health Survey, state and district workbooks (item: "During the past 30 days, on how many days did you have at least one drink of alcohol?"). Share of survey respondents in grades 6 to 12 answering anything other than 0 days. Voluntary survey; participation varies. Districts where fewer than 30 students answered are left blank, because a handful of answers would not represent the district. The scoping report's recommended source (the GASPS warehouse) publishes no county download, so the survey's district figures are used instead. A matching marijuana measure is in the downloads.
See every district · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Teenage parenthood
Births to mothers aged 15 to 19, per 1,000 females in that age group, Georgia, 2015 to 2024 Good ●●●
Source: Georgia Department of Public Health, OASIS birth data (query of the public tool), by county and state. Calendar years, single-year rates. Small counties are suppressed by the state tool in some years. The tool reports ages 15 to 17 and 18 to 19 separately; the combined 15 to 19 rate is shown. County Health Rankings publishes a higher figure (18.6 for Georgia in its 2025 release) because it pools several years of births; the scoping report names the state tool as the best source and that is what is used here.
See every county · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Special education
Students with disabilities, share of enrollment, Georgia, 2018 to 2025 Good ●●●
Source: GOEWS downloadable data, Enrollment by Subgroup files. The scoping report names GaDOE's special education reports as the best source; the state's Enrollment by Subgroup files carry the same share of enrollment for every school, district and the state, and are used here.
See every district · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
English learner status
Current English learners, share of enrollment, Georgia, 2018 to 2025 Fair ●●○
Source: GOEWS downloadable data, Enrollment by Subgroup files. Counts students currently classified. Students who have reached proficiency leave the group, so this understates how many were ever English learners. From the state's Enrollment by Subgroup files, which carry the Report Card's figure as a whole-number percent for every school and district.
See every district · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Family
Conditions in the student's home and household.8 risks6 good · 1 fair · 1 weak
- 18.8%2025Good ●●●
- 11.0%2023Good ●●●
- 30.4%2025Good ●●●
- 46,0702023-24Good ●●●
- 42025Good ●●●
- 402026Fair ●●○
- 8%2022-23Good ●●●
- 16.5%2025Weak ●○○
Household income
Children under 18 living below the poverty line, Georgia, 2018 to 2025 Good ●●●
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps analytic data (American Community Survey estimate), by county and state. Year shown is the County Health Rankings release year; the estimate comes from the five-year American Community Survey ending about two years earlier. Census-tract detail (the scoping report's preferred level) needs a Census API key and is planned.
See every county · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Parental education
Adults 25 and over without a high school diploma or equivalent (stand-in), Georgia, 2017 to 2023 Good ●●●
Source: American Community Survey five-year estimates (table S1501), by county and state, through the Census API. A stand-in: the survey describes all adults 25 and over in an area, not parents. The scoping report's preferred measure needs the survey's microdata and is not published as a table. Five-year estimates ending in the year shown.
See every county · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Family structure and disruption
Children living in single-parent households, Georgia, 2018 to 2025 Good ●●●
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps analytic data (American Community Survey estimate), by county and state. Release year shown; five-year survey estimate ending about two years earlier. County Health Rankings changed this measure's definition in 2021 (from single-parent households to children in households with one adult), which is the step in the trend.
See every county · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Homelessness and housing instability
Students identified as homeless (McKinney-Vento count), Georgia, 2024 to 2024 Good ●●●
Source: GaDOE FY24 McKinney-Vento student count (2023-24); federal EDFacts homeless-student files (2017-18 to 2021-22, district level). The statewide figure is the state's own stated total for 2023-24 (46,070; the federal file for the same year reports 44,445). District counts for 2017-18 to 2021-22 come from the federal files; the 2022-23 and 2023-24 federal files refuse automated download and are not yet included. The state's 2023-24 sheet shows a zero for 48 districts with fewer than 15 students.
See every district · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Child maltreatment
Children found to be victims of maltreatment, per 10,000 children, Georgia, 2025 to 2025 Good ●●●
Source: Federal NCANDS data via Fostering Court Improvement, Georgia county summary (victim reports). Georgia Appleseed holds a contract with the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. The figures here come from the federal child-maltreatment data file as published by Fostering Court Improvement and are shown without adjustment. Twelve months ending September of the year shown. DFCS publishes no county-level data files of its own, which is why the federal data file is used. One period so far; earlier years accumulate as the monthly pull continues.
See every county · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Foster care
Children in foster care per 10,000 children, on March 31, Georgia, 2025 to 2026 Fair ●●○
Source: Federal AFCARS data via Fostering Court Improvement, Georgia county summary. Georgia Appleseed holds a contract with the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. The figures here come from the federal foster-care data file as published by Fostering Court Improvement and are shown without adjustment. DFCS publishes no county-level data files of its own, which is why the federal data file is used. The county file reports two March 31 snapshots; earlier years will accumulate as the ledger's monthly pull continues.
See every county · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Parental incarceration
Children who have had a parent or guardian in jail or prison (state only), Georgia, 2017 to 2023 Good ●●●
Source: KIDS COUNT Data Center (National Survey of Children's Health), Georgia. State level only; two-year survey periods (2016-17 through 2022-23), labelled by the later year. The survey publishes no county breakdown, so this cannot be compared across Georgia.
Parental substance use
Adults reporting excessive drinking (stand-in), Georgia, 2018 to 2025 Weak ●○○
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps analytic data (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System), by county and state. A weak stand-in, as the scoping report says: it describes all adults in a county, not parents, and drinking, not substance use broadly. Release year shown; survey data from about two years earlier.
See every county · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
School
Features of the school a student attends.7 risks4 good · 3 fair
- $14,0262024-25Good ●●●
- School effectiveness and organization
Schools designated "Beating the Odds", share of schools analyzed31.4%2024-25Good ●●● - 76.8%2023-24Good ●●●
- Teacher turnover
Teachers who left their district from one year to the next (average across districts)15.82022-23Fair ●●○ - 86.7%2023-24Fair ●●○
- Academic tracking and course placement
Students enrolled in at least one Advanced Placement course, share of enrollment in schools serving grade 1221.82023-24Fair ●●○ - 6.3%2024-25Good ●●●
School funding
Spending per full-time-equivalent student, all K-12 expenditure categories, Georgia, 2018 to 2025 Good ●●●
Source: GOEWS downloadable data, Revenues and Expenditures files. Sum of the eleven published per-student expenditure lines (instruction, pupil services, transportation, administration and others). Not adjusted for inflation.
See every district · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
School effectiveness and organization
Schools designated "Beating the Odds", share of schools analyzed, Georgia, 2018 to 2025 Good ●●●
Source: GOEWS Beating the Odds analysis, per-school designation files. A school beats the odds when its CCRPI score is above the range predicted from its enrollment, poverty, mobility, and other characteristics. By construction about a third of schools statewide are designated each year, so the statewide share barely moves; the district shares are where the information is. No analysis was issued for 2019-20 through 2022-23.
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Climate and connectedness
Students who agree they feel connected to others at school, Georgia, 2019 to 2024 Good ●●●
Source: Georgia Student Health Survey, state and district workbooks (item: "I feel connected to others at school"). Share of survey respondents in grades 6 to 12 answering somewhat or strongly agree. The survey is voluntary and participation varies by year and district, so compare with care. Where fewer than 30 students in a district answered the item, that district's figure is left blank rather than shown, because a handful of answers would not represent the district. 2020-21 used the Student Wellness Survey, which omitted this item. From 2024-25 the state replaces the survey with the Georgia School Climate Survey.
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Teacher turnover
Teachers who left their district from one year to the next (average across districts), Georgia, 2018 to 2023 Fair ●●○
Source: GOEWS Teacher and Leader Workforce Reports; 2018 district retention download. The state publishes retention (the share who stayed); turnover here is 100 minus that figure. The state last published district-level rates for 2017-18. The 2021-22 and 2022-23 statewide figures come from the reports' own stated averages across districts, typed in from the report text. No figures for 2018-19 through 2020-21 on the same definition. Rated fair by the scoping report; the thin publication record is why.
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Peer influence
Students who agree they get along with other students at school, Georgia, 2019 to 2024 Fair ●●○
Source: Georgia Student Health Survey, state and district workbooks (item: "I get along with other students at school"). Share of survey respondents in grades 6 to 12 answering somewhat or strongly agree. Voluntary survey; participation varies. Districts where fewer than 30 students answered are left blank, because a handful of answers would not represent the district. The item measures peer support, the closest published measure to the research's "peer influence". 2020-21 omitted this item.
See every district · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Exclusionary discipline
Students given an out-of-school suspension, share of enrollment, Georgia, 2014 to 2025 Good ●●●
Source: GOEWS K-12 Student Discipline Dashboard data (DISCIPLINE_SCHOOL_CHARACTERISTICS). District and school rates are published. The statewide figure is the enrollment-weighted mean of district rates; it matches the dashboard's published statewide rate (6.3% for 2024-25) when rounded. Out-of-school suspension only; the same file carries in-school suspension and expulsion rates, which can be added.
See every district · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Community
Conditions in the neighborhood and local area.4 risks1 good · 3 fair
- Sustained neighborhood disadvantage
Children living in high-poverty census tracts (30% or more of residents below the poverty line)8.8%2023Good ●●● - 3882022Fair ●●○
- 13.2%2023Fair ●●○
- 662025Fair ●●○
Sustained neighborhood disadvantage
Children living in high-poverty census tracts (30% or more of residents below the poverty line), Georgia, 2017 to 2023 Good ●●●
Source: American Community Survey five-year estimates (table S1701), census tracts, through the Census API. Each year is a five-year estimate ending that year, so neighboring years overlap. Computed from the published tract counts: children in tracts whose overall poverty rate is 30% or more, over all children. The research measure is long-term exposure over childhood; this is a snapshot of where children live now. Tract boundaries changed between the 2021 and 2022 estimates.
See every county · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Neighborhood crime and disorder
Violent crime offenses per 100,000 people, Georgia, 2018 to 2022 Fair ●●○
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps analytic data (FBI Uniform Crime Reporting), by county and state. Release year shown; each release pools several earlier years of reported offenses, and the 2019 through 2022 releases reused the same underlying years, which is why the statewide value does not change between them. County Health Rankings retired the measure after the 2022 release, so nothing newer exists on this definition.
See every county · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Residential mobility
People who lived in a different house one year earlier, Georgia, 2017 to 2023 Fair ●●○
Source: American Community Survey five-year estimates (table B07003), by county and state, through the Census API. Five-year estimates ending in the year shown. Counts all people aged 1 and over, not children specifically, and one move in a year, not moves over a childhood; the scoping report rates it fair for that reason.
See every county · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Access to health services
Primary care physicians per 100,000 people, Georgia, 2018 to 2025 Fair ●●○
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps analytic data (Area Health Resource File), by county and state. Release year shown; the count is from about two years earlier. The scoping report rates the source fair: it measures physicians where people live, not services students can reach.
See every county · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Policy
State rules on diplomas and school accountability.2 risks1 fair · 1 no data source
- Exit exams
Exams required for a diplomaNot yet loadedNo data source - 78.02024-25Fair ●●○
Graduation accountability
CCRPI single score (state accountability index, 0 to 100), Georgia, 2023 to 2025 Fair ●●○
Source: GOEWS Georgia School Grades Reports data (schoolgrades_ccrpi_data). No CCRPI scores were issued for 2019-20 through 2021-22. The index combines achievement, progress, closing gaps and readiness; graduation rates feed the high-school readiness component. Taken from the state's School Grades data file, which carries the same scores as GaDOE's CCRPI reporting site in a downloadable form.
See every district · Download this dataset (CSV, by area and year)
Data downloads
Every dataset on this site, one tidy table each: area, school year, student group, value, count, whether the state suppressed the value, and how the figure was obtained (published, or computed from published figures). State and district rows; school-level rows will be added once the files are split by district.
| Dataset | Coverage | Download |
|---|---|---|
| Four-year graduation rate | classes of 2018 to 2025, by student group | CSV (5.1 MB) |
| Five-year graduation rate | classes of 2017 to 2024, by student group (state posts gaps) | CSV (3.3 MB) |
| Attendance: Students chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days) | 2018 to 2025, by student group | CSV (4.5 MB) |
| Grades, course failure and credits: Students in grades 9 to 12 who dropped out during the year (stand-in) | 2018 to 2025, by student group | CSV (4.3 MB) |
| Behavior: Students with at least one discipline incident during the year | 2014 to 2025 | CSV (0.5 MB) |
| Grade retention: Students held back a grade (all grades) | 2018 to 2025 | CSV (0.3 MB) |
| Special education: Students with disabilities, share of enrollment | 2018 to 2025 | CSV (0.3 MB) |
| English learner status: Current English learners, share of enrollment | 2018 to 2025 | CSV (0.3 MB) |
| School funding: Spending per full-time-equivalent student, all K-12 expenditure categories | 2018 to 2025 | CSV (0.3 MB) |
| School effectiveness and organization: Schools designated "Beating the Odds", share of schools analyzed | 2018 to 2025 | CSV (0.2 MB) |
| Exclusionary discipline: Students given an out-of-school suspension, share of enrollment | 2014 to 2025 | CSV (0.4 MB) |
| Homelessness and housing instability: Students identified as homeless (McKinney-Vento count) | 2024 to 2024 | CSV (0.4 MB) |
| Climate and connectedness: Students who agree they feel connected to others at school | 2019 to 2024 | CSV (0.2 MB) |
| Peer influence: Students who agree they get along with other students at school | 2019 to 2024 | CSV (0.2 MB) |
| Substance use: Students who drank alcohol on at least one day in the past 30 days | 2019 to 2024 | CSV (0.2 MB) |
| Mental health: Students who felt depressed, sad or withdrawn on 10 or more of the past 30 days | 2019 to 2024 | CSV (0.2 MB) |
| Teacher turnover: Teachers who left their district from one year to the next (average across districts) | 2018 to 2023 | CSV (0.0 MB) |
| Academic tracking and course placement: Students enrolled in at least one Advanced Placement course, share of enrollment in schools serving grade 12 | 2018 to 2024 | CSV (0.1 MB) |
| Household income: Children under 18 living below the poverty line | 2018 to 2025 | CSV (0.0 MB) |
| Family structure and disruption: Children living in single-parent households | 2018 to 2025 | CSV (0.0 MB) |
| Neighborhood crime and disorder: Violent crime offenses per 100,000 people | 2018 to 2022 | CSV (0.0 MB) |
| Access to health services: Primary care physicians per 100,000 people | 2018 to 2025 | CSV (0.0 MB) |
| Parental substance use: Adults reporting excessive drinking (stand-in) | 2018 to 2025 | CSV (0.0 MB) |
| Parental incarceration: Children who have had a parent or guardian in jail or prison (state only) | 2017 to 2023 | CSV (0.0 MB) |
| Child maltreatment: Children found to be victims of maltreatment, per 10,000 children | 2025 to 2025 | CSV (0.0 MB) |
| Foster care: Children in foster care per 10,000 children, on March 31 | 2025 to 2026 | CSV (0.0 MB) |
| Teenage parenthood: Births to mothers aged 15 to 19, per 1,000 females in that age group | 2015 to 2024 | CSV (0.0 MB) |
| Juvenile justice involvement: Youth referred to juvenile court during the year (unique youth) | 2010 to 2025 | CSV (0.0 MB) |
| Sustained neighborhood disadvantage: Children living in high-poverty census tracts (30% or more of residents below the poverty line) | 2017 to 2023 | CSV (0.0 MB) |
| Residential mobility: People who lived in a different house one year earlier | 2017 to 2023 | CSV (0.0 MB) |
| Parental education: Adults 25 and over without a high school diploma or equivalent (stand-in) | 2017 to 2023 | CSV (0.0 MB) |
| Graduation accountability: CCRPI single score (state accountability index, 0 to 100) | 2023 to 2025 | CSV (0.2 MB) |
Methodology
The 31 risk factors and the best Georgia data source for each come from Data needs for a Georgia graduation and risk factors app (Get the Data, LLC, for Georgia Appleseed, October 2026). Risk factors were identified from reviews of the United States research on why students do not graduate; each data source was rated on validity, reliability, how often it is published, and the smallest area it covers.
Data quality marks. Good: high validity, high or medium reliability, and strong or moderate research evidence. Fair: medium validity, or research evidence that is limited, mixed or not rated. Weak: low validity. No data source: no suitable published source was found.
How numbers get here. Each source file is downloaded as published and archived unchanged. A script reads the archived file, keeps the state's suppression marks, and writes the tables above. Where the state publishes counts but not a share (students retained, students with a discipline incident, schools beating the odds), the share is the one count divided by the other. Where the state publishes per-student spending by category, the total is the sum of the categories. Where the state publishes district rows but no statewide row (the discipline dashboard), the statewide figure is summed from the district counts, or enrollment-weighted from the district rates, and labelled as such. Small numbers. For the Georgia Student Health Survey, a district's figure is left blank when fewer than 30 students there answered the item. A handful of answers would not represent a district, and could identify students. This is the site's rule, not the survey's; the state's own suppression marks in every other dataset are kept as published and never filled in. The page is rendered from those tables by a script that only renders; no number on this site is generated or estimated by software. The archived files and the verification log are kept with the site's code.
Years. Most measures start with the 2017-18 school year or the 2018 release even where the publisher's files go back further; earlier years can be added from the same files. Where a publisher skipped years (no CCRPI scores for 2019-20 to 2021-22; no Beating the Odds analysis for 2019-20 to 2022-23; no climate or peer items in the 2020-21 survey), the gap is left as a gap.
Limitations. The site shows how risk factors and graduation rates vary across the same areas. These links do not show that a risk factor causes lower graduation. County and census-tract data describe where students live, not individual students. The site holds no student-level data.