Financial Efficiency Star Rating Archives

The historical and archival information found on this page is provided for general knowledge. All information on this page corresponds to Financial Efficiency Star Rating (FESR) data from previous years. Current year information is provided on the FESR main page as it becomes available.

2021 FESR (PPE Only)

The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) and GOSA are unable to release FESR for the 2020-2021 school year due to the lack of 2021 CCRPI data. The 2021 per pupil expenditure (PPE) district-level and school-level files were released on February 15, 2022. The following files are available for download:

2020 FESR (PPE Only)

The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) and GOSA are unable to release FESR for the 2019-2020 school year due to the cancellation of 2020 Milestones testing and the lack of 2020 CCRPI data. The 2020 per pupil expenditure (PPE) district-level and school-level files were released on February 4, 2021. The following files are available for download:

2020 PPE Calculation Guide
2020 District-Level PPE Downloadable File
2020 School-Level PPE Downloadable File
A corrected school-level PPE file was issued in May 2021. This version corrected a minor coding error that affected the federal PPE calculation for local charter schools with no included federal expenditures. The overall PPE was not impacted. Cells affected by the correction are highlighted.

2019 FESR

The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) and GOSA released the 2019 FESR on March 10, 2020. The following files are available for download:

2019 District-Level Ratings Downloadable File
2019 School-Level Ratings Downloadable File
A corrected school-level FESR file was issued in May 2021. This version corrected a minor coding error that affected the federal PPE calculation for local charter schools with no included federal expenditures. The overall PPE and FESR ratings were not impacted. Cells affected by the correction are highlighted.
2019 Calculation Guide

2018 FESR

The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) and GOSA released the 2018 FESR on January 22, 2019. The following related resources are available for download:

Details on the Calculation

The matrix below shows the method for determining the FESR using both the PPE percentile and the CCRPI scores. Districts can earn between a one-half star and five stars, with a one-half star rating for districts with the highest PPEs and low CCRPI scores, and a five-star rating for districts with the lowest PPEs and high CCRPI scores. The 2018 district FESR is based on a three-year average (2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018) of PPE and CCRPI scores. The 2018 school FESR is based on a two-year average (2016-2017 and 2017-2018) only.

The PPE is calculated by dividing the district's expenditures by the district's fall enrollment count. The PPE calculation only includes certain expenditures. In general, expenditures that do not directly affect the K-12 population, those associated with food and facility construction, and expenditures that cannot be associated with a specific year are omitted from the PPE calculation. Additionally, expenditures for students that are outside of the district’s enrollment zone are excluded from the calculation. The 2018 calculation guide provides a complete list of excluded expenditures.

State charter schools are reported in the school-level downloadable file. Since state charter schools report directly to the state, any district value (such as district allocation) is reported as zero. Otherwise, their school-level and district-level version of a particular variable would be the same.

2017 FESR

On January 26, 2018, GaDOE and GOSA released the 2017 FESR. The following related resources are available for download:

2016 FESR

On January 26, 2017, GaDOE and GOSA released the 2016 FESR. The following related resources are available for download:

2015 FESR

On July 14, 2016, GaDOE and GOSA released the first Financial Efficiency Star Ratings (FESR). The following related resources are available for download:

Authorizing Statute

O.C.G.A. §20-14-33 requires that the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA), in coordination with GaDOE, create a financial efficiency rating. The law requires that GOSA and the GaDOE collaborate to “adopt and annually review, and revise as necessary, indicators of the quality of learning by students, financial efficiency, and school climate for individual schools and for school systems.” Financial efficiency “may include an analysis of how federal and state funds spent by local school systems impact student achievement and school improvement, and components used to determine financial efficiency may include actual achievement, resource efficiency, and student participation in standardized testing.” The rating must be based upon five stars.