Baker County

Baker County is a small, rural district in southwest Georgia serving roughly 287 students across four schools—an elementary school (PK-5), a middle school (6-8), a high school (9-12), and an alternative learning academy (K-12)—with all traditional schools reporting 100% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch.

Baker County High School stands out as the district’s strongest performer, achieving a 100% graduation rate in 2024-2025—well above the state average of 87.2%—despite serving just 77 students and facing chronic absenteeism of 44.9%. Its state ranking jumped from the 5th percentile to the 39th percentile in one year before settling at the 24th percentile. In contrast, Baker County Elementary shows a sharp academic decline by grade level: 3rd grade math proficiency is 42.1% (near the state’s 48.3%), but 4th grade drops to 9.5% and 5th grade to 9.1%—a 32.6 percentage point plunge that signals a persistent learning gap. Baker County Middle School performs slightly better, with 6th grade math at 30% (state: 40.7%) and 8th grade social studies at 26% (state: 40.2%), but science proficiency is universally low across all grades, from 18.2% in 5th grade to 13% in 8th grade and 20% in high school Biology.

Chronic absenteeism escalates with grade level—26.6% in elementary, 34.3% in middle, and 44.9% in high school—nearly double the state rate of 17.7% at every level. Resource spending is high but doesn’t translate to performance: the high school spends $30,307 per student and the Baker County Learning Academy spends $40,383 per student (with only 6 students), yet proficiency rates remain well below state averages. Small cohort sizes make metrics volatile—a single student can shift proficiency by 1-2 points—so the high school’s 100% graduation rate, while impressive, represents just 77 students. The district’s 1-star rating masks individual differences: the middle school (25th percentile) and high school (24th percentile) outperform the elementary school (11th percentile), which drags down the overall district ranking of 176th out of 201.