The AJC has now posted CRCT scores for 2009 by individual school, though I’m having trouble coming up with any statewide benchmarks. Here are a couple snippets from the AJC article that reference statewide levels…

For instance, the pass rate among eighth graders taking the math test rose to 70 percent, up from 62 percent last year.

…Third-graders this year improved their math passage rate from 71 percent to 78 percent, and fifth-graders improved from 72 percent to 79 percent. For science, 80 percent of third-graders passed the test, compared to 75 percent last year. The fourth-grade passing rate rose from 74 percent to 78 percent.

Social studies remained a challenge, with 37 percent of eighth graders failing that test. Last year, 41 percent of eighth graders failed.

Among CSD schools, Oakhurst had by far the smallest percentage of 3rd graders that failed the math section (12.5%), while Winnona had the highest (23.2%). Oakhurst also had the smallest percentage of 3rd graders that failed the science section (10.7%), while Clairemont had the highest (17.3%).   20.9% of 8th graders failed the “challenging” social studies section, which is considerably better than the 37% statewide average mentioned above.

Here are links to each Decatur school, allowing you to avoid the AJC’s painful drop-down menu.

Clairemont Elementary

Winnona Park Elementary

Oakhurst Elementary

Glennwood Academy

Renfroe Middle School

Also, I noticed that Decatur ranked 91st among Georgia High School Graduation Tests in 2009.  That data was released about a month ago.

Wheatley reports over on the Loaf about an Atlanta Business Chronicle story that teases the transit-minded with visions of a revived Peachtree streetcar, thanks to that debt-driven dreammaker, the Federal Stimulus package.

But is a Peachtree Streetcar the best use of Atlanta transit money?  A commenter on Freah Loaf argues that transit should instead focus efforts toward expanding into Gwinnett, Cobb and Cumming (and ignore the desire of voters, apparently).

To me, this dilemma strikes at the heart of competing Atlanta visions.  City-lovers are inclined to support the streetcar, which would strengthen public transit in-town and give the city a much-needed iconic image (without employing Calatrava).  In contrast, metro-visionaries see the streetcar as putting the train before the engine at this stage since the reality is still that 4 out of 5 people in the metro-area live in the tragically transitless ‘burbs.  These folks call for a much larger MARTA network.

At a high-level, transit advocates agree that both these components are key to Atlanta’s overall transit vision, but which is more important and therefore should receive priority in the current battle over dollars?

If suburbanites wanted, instead of feared, MARTA, it might actually be a tough call.

Ryan Klee at Lenz Marketing forwards an announcement from the Decatur Book Festival, regarding the launch of a new event  that’s both outside the city limits and DBF weekend.  It’s being called “the festival’s latest expansion.”

The kick off event for this expansion will be the first DBF Book Club Bash at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 16 at the Marcus Jewish Community Center, 5342 Tilly Mill Rd., Dunwoody.

The evening is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required. Several hundred metro Atlanta book club members have already signed up to attend, and there is still room for more before capacity is reached, although space is going fast.

The Bash will include an authors panel of popular local authors talking about how they relate to book clubs and to fans in general: Emily Giffin (“Love the One You’re With”), Joshilyn Jackson (“The Girl Who Stopped Swimming”) and Susan Rebecca White (“Bound South”). There will also be discussion among book club leaders about what goes into making a good book club, and information from bookstores and libraries on how they can help book clubs. Refreshments will also be served.

In order to attend, you must be a member of a metro Atlanta book club, and you must register at this page on the Decatur Book Festival website: http://www.decaturbookfestival.com/Community/bookclubs.php