High Schools in Crisp County

Crisp County High School is the only high school in Crisp County, serving grades 9–12 in Cordele, GA, with an enrollment of 978 students and a nearly universal low-income population (99.59% free/reduced lunch eligibility).

This school faces significant challenges across nearly every metric. Academic proficiency on End-of-Course Milestones tests is roughly 25–30 percentage points below state averages in all subjects. For example, only 22.8% of students are proficient in Algebra I (state: 48.1%), 22.1% in Biology (state: 47.2%), and just 11.3% in U.S. History (state: 38.5%). The school has consistently ranked in the bottom 12–16% of Georgia high schools over the past three years, holding a 1-star rating. Attendance and persistence are also major concerns: the chronic absenteeism rate is 28.7% (state: 17.7%), and the dropout rate of 5.5% is more than double the state average of 2.4%. The graduation rate stands at 81.7%, compared to 87.2% statewide.

There are a few encouraging signs. Algebra I proficiency improved by 3.5 percentage points year-over-year, and U.S. History improved by 3.6 points, though both remain far below state averages. The school spends $14,718 per student, above the national average, and maintains a student-teacher ratio of 15.6:1, which is slightly better than typical for Georgia. However, the combination of high spending and low outcomes suggests that resource allocation and targeted interventions—particularly around attendance, student engagement, and instructional support in core subjects—may be needed. English Language Arts (ELA) scores are not yet available and will be released in December; this analysis should be revisited once those results are published to provide a complete academic picture.