Middle Schools in Chattooga County

Chattooga County is home to a single middle school, Summerville Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 with 337 students in a rural, high-poverty area of northwest Georgia.

Summerville Middle School shows a clear and persistent pattern of declining proficiency as students advance in grade. In math, 6th graders outperform the state average (42% proficient vs. 40.7%), but by 7th grade proficiency drops to 28.2%, and by 8th grade it falls to just 19.8%—a 26-point gap behind the state. The same downward slide appears in the previous year’s data, indicating this is not a one-year fluke. The school also struggles significantly in 8th-grade science (15.5% proficient vs. 29.7% statewide) and social studies (14.6% vs. 40.2% statewide), with the social studies gap being particularly stark at less than half the state average. The one bright spot is 6th-grade math, which suggests students arrive with solid foundational skills that are not being sustained through middle school.

Despite these academic challenges, the school is investing heavily in its students. It spends $14,916 per pupil and maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 11.6:1. However, 90.8% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and chronic absenteeism stands at 20.7%—higher than both the district (18.2%) and state (17.7%) averages. These factors likely require resources beyond academics. On a positive note, the school’s state ranking has improved steadily over three years, rising from the 17th percentile to the 31st percentile (now 401st out of 578 schools). While Summerville Middle School remains in the bottom third of Georgia schools, this upward trajectory suggests recent efforts may be gaining traction, even as significant work remains in upper-grade math, science, and social studies.