Georgia education officials are working hard to get the state's proposed College and Career Ready Performance Index in place by next school year.

The index was submitted in late September to the U.S. Department of Education.

The next step is to make sure the index fits with federal qualifications and resubmit it with a completed waiver application by Oct. 16, State Superintendent John Barge said Friday.

"This system is progressing quite well," he said. "It'll help us lead discussions on a national level."

The index, which is like a report card for schools, focuses on how prepared students are for the professional world rather than just standardized tests.

It will measure the extent to which a school is making progress on a list of specific criteria, including college and career preparation at all grade levels.

It comes from two Georgia laws, House Bills 400 and 186. HB 400 put in place a career counseling program for middle school students, and HB 186 requires students to have Career, Technical and Agricultural Education classes as part of their curriculum.

It's all a focus on graduating students with the skills to make them successful in the workforce, local school officials said.

Georgia High School Graduation Tests will not play any role in the new index except for the writing portion, Barge said. Instead, students will be evaluated on their End of Course Test scores.

Barge said only two states, Georgia and Kentucky, have been "aggressive" in getting these waivers passed.

"I think there could be something potentially coming soon from Colorado, Indiana," he said. "I'm not sure which ones but I think there's about five states submitting applications."