Best Public Schools in Sparks, GA

Sparks, Georgia, is served by two schools within the Cook County School District, which holds a 3-star rating and ranks in the 63rd percentile among Georgia districts, covering grades 3 through 8 for roughly 1,306 students.

For parents, the standout story is Cook County Middle School’s exceptional performance in advanced math. In 2025-2026, 96.6% of its students scored proficient or better on the Algebra I End of Course assessment—nearly double the district average and more than 48 percentage points above the state average. This follows a perfect 100% proficiency rate the prior year, signaling a highly effective advanced math pathway. The middle school also outperforms the state in 8th-grade science (33.8% vs. 29.7%) and 6th-grade math (41.8% vs. 40.7%), though it trails in 8th-grade social studies by 9.4 points. Meanwhile, Cook Elementary School shows a concerning pattern in math: proficiency starts strong in 3rd grade (51.8%, above the state) but drops sharply to 35.6% in 4th grade and just 23.2% in 5th grade—a 28.6-point decline that suggests cumulative learning gaps. The elementary school also lags the state in 5th-grade science by 10.3 points.

Both schools maintain healthy attendance, with chronic absenteeism rates (15.7% elementary, 15.0% middle) below both district and state averages. Class sizes are favorable, with student-teacher ratios around 12.3:1 and 12.8:1, respectively. Notably, Cook Elementary serves a 100% free/reduced lunch population yet still achieves above-state 3rd-grade math results, reflecting effective resource use. The middle school ranks in the 60th percentile statewide (230th of 578), while the elementary school sits in the 38th percentile (756th of 1,219). Overall, the district’s 3-star rating reflects solid performance, with clear opportunities for growth in upper-elementary math and middle school social studies.