School improvement and accountability are federally mandated requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Annual Yearly Progress (AYP). The school improvement process for Gordon County Schools utilizes a data-driven, research-based framework to set academic goals and objectives for improving student learning. School leadership teams study several types of data annually to select and implement strategies to improve the instructional and organizational effectiveness of their respective schools.

The Georgia School Keys are a set of standards that describe what Georgia's schools need to know, understand, and be able to do in the same manner that the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) describe what Georgia's students need to know, understand, and be able to do. Correlated to several well-known and respected research frameworks, the Georgia School Keys are measured through a process known as the Georgia Assessment of Performance on School Standards (GAPSS Analysis).

All Gordon County schools participated in a GAPSS Analysis in the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 school years. A visiting team of educators collected data from multiple sources (class observations, surveys and interviews with teachers, students, and administrators, and student achievement) to assess the status of a school on the following eight standards: Curriculum; Instruction; Assessment; Planning and Organization; Student, Family, and Community Support; Professional Learning; Leadership; and School Culture. Results of this internal review provided important information for development and implementation of individual school improvement plans. The job of each school leadership team is to lead the development of a school improvement plan that addresses student achievement needs, to monitor the implementation of the plan, and to revise it when appropriate.

Gordon County Schools is committed to sustaining an atmosphere of constant and ongoing school improvement through research based practices and utilization of the new standards. Data driven school improvement is essential to student achievement and increased standardized test scores.