Calhoun County

Calhoun County is a small, rural district in southwest Georgia serving about 443 students across three schools on one shared campus in Edison: Calhoun County Elementary School (PK-5), Calhoun County Middle School (6-8), and Calhoun County High School (9-12).

The elementary school is the district's standout, earning a 2-star rating and jumping from the 20th to the 46th percentile in state rankings over two years. Its 5th grade science proficiency (51.7%) is the only subject-area score in the district that beats the state average (44.2%), though math scores (31-37%) trail the state by 10-13 points. The high school shines in graduation, with a 91.5% rate that exceeds the state's 87.2%, even as its End of Course exam proficiency ranges from just 19% in Biology to 32% in U.S. History. The middle school shows the most dramatic improvement—climbing from the 6th to the 25th percentile—but remains the weakest academically, with 8th grade social studies proficiency at 10.3% versus the state's 40.2%, a 30-point gap. Notably, the middle school's chronic absenteeism (16.3%) is actually better than the state average (17.7%), suggesting attendance isn't the core issue there.

All three schools have improved their state rankings in each of the past two years, pointing to district-wide momentum. Yet the district spends generously—$20,000 to $23,000 per student with student-teacher ratios near 11:1—while outcomes stay below state averages, a paradox likely tied to the high poverty rate (89-100% free/reduced lunch). The elementary school's science success and the high school's strong graduation rate offer bright spots, but the middle school's compounding gaps in math, science, and social studies remain the district's biggest challenge. English Language Arts scores from the latest release are pending until December, so literacy trends will be key to watch.