Parents and students are heading home from school with new knowledge this week about their schools' performance.

But new numbers on public education progress are a matter of interpretation.

The College and Career Ready Performance Index released this week replaces the No Child Left Behind Act's Adequate Yearly Progress report.

It's a measure of academic success or lack thereof.

In Savannah's Chatham County, schools on the whole performed below state averages.

But they also scored above averages for districts of similar size and demographics.

Chief academic officer Sharon Sand says it's a matter of packaging.

"There's nothing new in here. It's just the way it's being presented," Sand says. "Before it was you made it or you didn't make it. And now we have an opportunity to show how we are growing our schools."

Sand says the data used to prepare the reports is helping the district assign resources to the schools and teachers most in need.

You can find out how your schools fared in the reports by going to this website.

Tags: education, GPBnews, Savannah-Chatham County schools, orlando montoya, adequate yearly progress, No Child Left Behind Act, Sharon Sand, college and career ready performance index, CCRPI