Summary:
The city of Tifton, Georgia, is served by 10 schools within the Tift County school district, which holds a 3-star rating and serves students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in a high-poverty area where nearly every school reports 100% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.
For parents, the standout school in Tifton is Len Lastinger Elementary School, which ranks in the 83rd percentile statewide and has climbed from 449th to 211th in state rankings over three years. Its 4th grade math proficiency rate of 78.5% is 28 points above the state average, and it outperforms every other elementary school in the district. The most improved school is J.T. Reddick Elementary School, which jumped 364 positions in one year, while Charles Spencer Elementary School also made significant gains but remains the district's lowest-ranked elementary school. Among middle schools, Eighth Street Middle School outperforms Northeast Middle School in nearly every subject, while Tift County High School lags behind its feeder schools, ranking in the 29th percentile.
A major bright spot is the district's Algebra I acceleration program: both middle schools post proficiency rates of 94-100%, more than double the state average of 48.1%. Science proficiency also exceeds state averages at several elementary schools, including Len Lastinger and J.T. Reddick. However, chronic absenteeism is a district-wide concern, with Tift County High School (29.8%) and Charles Spencer (28.6%) having the highest rates, while Northside Elementary School (16.2%) has the lowest. Notably, the highest-spending schools—Northside, Charles Spencer, and Matt Wilson Elementary School—are among the lowest performers, while Len Lastinger spends less and achieves more, suggesting that factors beyond funding drive success. The district shows wide disparities between its best and worst elementary schools, with a 45.8-point gap in 4th grade math proficiency between Len Lastinger and Charles Spencer.
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