Academics Overview
The curriculum in Fulton County Schools focuses on the development and application of skills and knowledge as identified by the Georgia Standards of Excellence.
Georgia Standards of Excellence guide system curriculum planning, development of curriculum guides, textbook adoptions and assessments. Curriculum implementation supports the board of Education's vision for increased emphasis on academics for all students.
The Fulton County Board of Education supports our mission statement that each child should be given the opportunity to reach his/her full potential. To that end, our continuous achievement framework for advancement allows each child to progress in language arts and math at his/her optimum pace and depth, expanding and compacting the curriculum as appropriate. The framework is implemented in all elementary and middle schools and includes a process for advancement in the current grade level and an acceleration process which allows a student to advance above grade level.
Specific criteria for placement are established to support the students' most appropriate placement for instruction. Every 18 weeks, student performance within the level at which a student is placed is reviewed to determine if the placement level continues to be appropriate in meeting the student's learning needs.
Each student will be identified as "on-level", "advanced", or "accelerated" to clearly communicate their continuous achievement level. In English/Language Arts, the advanced curriculum is written at a different pace, depth and instructional level than the on-level curriculum, in order to provide appropriate rigor and challenge for students. Accelerated students are one full year ahead in Reading and Language Arts. In math, the students in advanced are one semester ahead of the on level pace, and accelerated students are one full year ahead.