Summary:
Heard County Schools is a five-school district in a rural Georgia county serving roughly 2,220 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, and it currently ranks in the 87th percentile of Georgia districts with a 4-star rating.
The district’s standout is Centralhatchee Elementary School, which ranks in the 93rd percentile statewide and posts math proficiency rates that are dramatically above state averages—81% in 3rd grade, 82.4% in 4th grade, and 67.8% in 5th grade—all while serving a student body where nearly 98% qualify for free or reduced lunch. By contrast, Heard Elementary School struggles significantly, with 3rd grade math at just 35.7% and 5th grade math at 28.1%, creating a gap of more than 45 percentage points between the two elementary schools in the same district. Heard County Middle School is another bright spot, jumping from the 78th to the 96th percentile in two years; its 8th grade social studies proficiency of 78.1% nearly doubles the state’s 40.2%, and its 8th grade science proficiency of 59.8% is more than double the state’s 29.7%. Heard County High School also improved sharply, rising from 168th to 107th in the state rankings, with a 92.4% graduation rate and U.S. History proficiency of 53.4% versus 38.5% statewide.
District-wide, students outperform state averages in science and social studies across multiple grade levels, suggesting a consistent instructional strength in those subjects. Chronic absenteeism is below the state average at 15.3%, though Ephesus Elementary School has the highest elementary rate at 16.7% and has seen its state ranking fall from the 73rd to the 55th percentile. Spending does not neatly predict results: Centralhatchee spends the most per student ($16,014) and performs best, but the middle school achieves excellent outcomes with the lowest spending ($11,472). For parents, the takeaway is a district on the rise with a clear model of success at Centralhatchee and the middle school, but with significant variability at the elementary level—particularly at Heard Elementary—that suggests targeted support could help close the gap.
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