Summary:
Gordon County Schools serves approximately 6,259 students across 10 schools—6 elementary, 2 middle, and 2 high schools—in a predominantly rural area of northwest Georgia, with the district ranking 89th out of 201 Georgia districts (56th percentile) and earning a 3-star rating.
For parents, the standout choice at the high school level is Sonoraville High School, which ranks in the 70th percentile (4 stars) and has improved its state ranking from 176th to 137th over two years. It leads the district in Biology (48.6% proficient) and U.S. History (45.7%), and boasts a 94.8% graduation rate with just a 1.3% dropout rate. By contrast, Gordon Central High School ranks in the 34th percentile (2 stars) and trails significantly in Biology (25.2%) and U.S. History (27.4%), though it actually outperforms Sonoraville in American Literature (36.2% vs. 32.5%). At the middle school level, Red Bud Middle School is exceptional—100% of its Algebra I students scored proficient, double the district average, and its 8th-grade science proficiency (46.5%) far exceeds the state (29.7%). Ashworth Middle School is weaker, especially in 7th-grade math (24.6% proficient, nearly 18 points below the state).
Among elementary schools, Sonoraville Elementary is the most consistent, holding 4-star ratings for three straight years with 5th-grade ELA (60.6%) and math (61.7%) proficiency well above district and state averages. Tolbert Elementary is the most improved, jumping from the 47th to 71st percentile in two years. Swain Elementary and Fairmount Elementary rank lower (40th and 43rd percentiles, respectively), with Swain also showing the district's highest chronic absenteeism (23.1%). District-wide, graduation rates (94.5%) far exceed the state (87.2%), but middle school math and Biology proficiency lag state averages. Notably, chronic absenteeism correlates with performance—Sonoraville Elementary's 7.5% rate aligns with its strong results—while per-student spending shows no clear link to outcomes.
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