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Polk County

Test scores delayed: 2026 rankings for Georgia do not yet include English Language Arts scores, which will not be released by the Georgia Department of Education until winter 2026.

At a glance

113^thof 202 Georgia districts▲ 13

Better than 44% of Georgia districts

Elementary 6 Middle 2 High 2 Alternative 1Grades PK, KG-12

612 South College Street
Cedartown, GA 30125·(770) 748-3821·All Georgia district rankings →

Statewide performance 2018–2026

2026: better than 44.1% of districts

Schools

7,745

Students

Top rankedYoungs Grove Elementary School567^th of 1,222 Georgia elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Van Wert Elementary School up 179 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Cherokee Elementary School 12.2 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

2★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Georgia districts →See the top-ranked Georgia schools →

Summary:

Polk County Schools is a Georgia district of 11 schools serving approximately 7,745 students from Pre-K through 12th grade, including six elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools, and one alternative school, with a predominantly economically disadvantaged student population.

For parents comparing schools, Cedartown High School stands out as the district's top-ranked school (59th percentile statewide) and outperforms Rockmart High School in every tested subject, including a 14-point lead in Algebra I (45.9% vs. 31.9%) and nearly 14 points in US History (34.4% vs. 20.6%). However, Rockmart High has a slightly higher graduation rate (93.5% vs. 91.9%), and both exceed the state average of 87.2%. At the middle school level, Cedartown Middle School excels in 8th grade Social Studies (41.5% proficiency, above the state's 40.2%), while Rockmart Middle School struggles dramatically in the same subject at just 13.2% — a 27-point gap. Among elementary schools, Cherokee Elementary School posted the district's highest single test score with 55% proficiency in 5th grade Science, while Westside Elementary School boasts the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the district at just 7.1%, less than half the district average of 15.7%.

The most compelling story is Youngs Grove Elementary School, which jumped from the 34th to 54th percentile statewide in two years despite 96% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch — the school now leads the district in 3rd and 4th grade Mathematics and 5th grade Science. A district-wide challenge is 5th grade Mathematics, where every elementary school falls below the state average of 44.1%, with gaps ranging from 9.4 to 20.1 points. Notably, Northside Elementary has the highest per-student spending ($15,014) but ranks in the bottom third of Georgia elementary schools, while Harpst Academy, the alternative school serving just 32 students, faces extreme challenges including 0% Algebra I proficiency and a 17.9% dropout rate. Despite the district's 2-star rating, multiple schools show upward momentum, suggesting recent initiatives are taking effect.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				Milestones Assessment Algebra I (2026)	Milestones Assessment Biology (2026)	Milestones Assessment United States History (2026)	Milestones Assessment Mathematics (2026)						Milestones Assessment Science (2026)		Milestones Assessment Social Studies (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Milestones Assessment Algebra I End of Course	Milestones Assessment Biology End of Course	Milestones Assessment United States History End of Course	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 3rd Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 6th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 7th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 8th Grade	Milestones Assessment Science 5th Grade	Milestones Assessment Science 8th Grade	Milestones Assessment Social Studies 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Westside Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	51 Frank Lott Dr	Cedartown	30125	Polk County	Polk County	No	No	No	Yes	(770) 748-0831	588	45	13.1	80.3%	255 (43.4%)	83 (14.1%)	216 (36.7%)	6 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (4.6%)	38.3	694^th of 1222 public elementary schools	43.2%		34.8	757^th of 1238 public elementary schools	38.9%	63				40.9	41.8	27.2				42.0			$14,089	$932	$13,157
Eastside Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	425 Prospect Rd	Rockmart	30153	Polk County	Polk County	No	No	No	Yes	(770) 684-5335	764	52	14.7	75.0%	584 (76.4%)	67 (8.8%)	51 (6.7%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (8.0%)	35	755^th of 1222 public elementary schools	38.2%		35.1	752^nd of 1238 public elementary schools	39.3%	3				44.7	42.0	24.0				32.3			$12,663	$801	$11,862
Rockmart High School	Public	9-12	990 Cartersville Hwy	Rockmart	30153	Polk County	Polk County	No	No	No	Yes	(770) 684-5432	956	49	19.6	61.0%	628 (65.7%)	204 (21.3%)	55 (5.8%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	66 (6.9%)	29.6	289^th of 457 public high schools	36.8%		30.5	290^th of 451 public high schools	35.7%	1	31.9	42.8	20.6										$12,572	$668	$11,904
Cedartown High School	Public	9-12	167 Frank Lott Dr	Cedartown	30125	Polk County	Polk County	No	No	No	Yes	(770) 748-0490	1,448	69	21.1	63.5%	642 (44.3%)	140 (9.7%)	597 (41.2%)	6 (0.4%)	2 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (4.2%)	45.6	189^th of 457 public high schools	58.6%		44.3	205^th of 451 public high schools	54.5%	16	45.9	47.9	34.4										$11,053	$689	$10,364
Cherokee Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	191 Evergreen Ln	Cedartown	30125	Polk County	Polk County	No	No	No	Yes	(770) 748-5614	575	47	12.2	82.1%	271 (47.1%)	16 (2.8%)	243 (42.3%)	14 (2.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (5.0%)	36.1	734^th of 1222 public elementary schools	39.9%		41.4	667^th of 1238 public elementary schools	46.1%	67				42.4	43.0	29.7				33.4			$14,023	$850	$13,173
Northside Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	100 N Philpot St	Cedartown	30125	Polk County	Polk County	No	No	No	Yes	(770) 748-4932	531	40	13.2	87.6%	165 (31.1%)	57 (10.7%)	283 (53.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (4.7%)	29.8	840^th of 1222 public elementary schools	31.3%		33.4	790^th of 1238 public elementary schools	36.2%	50				41.0	40.6	26.4				27.5			$15,014	$841	$14,173
Cedartown Middle School	Public	6-8	1664 Syble W Brannon Pkwy	Cedartown	30125	Polk County	Polk County	No	No	No	Yes	(770) 749-8850	997	58	17.0	80.2%	456 (45.7%)	106 (10.6%)	383 (38.4%)	8 (0.8%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (4.3%)	48	272^nd of 578 public middle schools	52.9%		41.6	328^th of 585 public middle schools	43.9%	56							32.7	30.6	35.8		34.8	41.5	$10,946	$649	$10,297
Rockmart Middle School	Public	6-8	60 Knox Mountain Rd	Rockmart	30153	Polk County	Polk County	No	No	No	Yes	(678) 757-1479	671	39	17.1	76.2%	469 (69.9%)	110 (16.4%)	34 (5.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	56 (8.3%)	40	326^th of 578 public middle schools	43.6%		34.8	377^th of 585 public middle schools	35.6%	51							24.7	38.5	40.2		33.5	13.2	$11,333	$666	$10,667
Harpst Academy	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	740 Fletcher St	Cedartown	30125	Polk County	Polk County	No	No	No	Yes	(770) 748-1500	32	6	5.3	90.6%	16 (50.0%)	11 (34.4%)	4 (12.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (3.1%)								(n/a)	0.0
Van Wert Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	370 Atlanta Hwy	Rockmart	30153	Polk County	Polk County	No	No	No	Yes	(770) 684-2237	693	55	12.6	100.0%	407 (58.7%)	155 (22.4%)	59 (8.5%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	70 (10.1%)	30.5	830^th of 1222 public elementary schools	32.1%		19.2	1009^th of 1238 public elementary schools	18.5%	179				35.5	25.9	34.6				38.3			$13,559	$871	$12,689
Youngs Grove Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	601 Wooten Rd	Cedartown	30125	Polk County	Polk County	No	No	No	Yes	(770) 748-3821	490	38	12.9	96.1%	263 (53.7%)	40 (8.2%)	164 (33.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (4.7%)	48.3	567^th of 1222 public elementary schools	53.6%		41.3	671^st of 1238 public elementary schools	45.8%	104				47.4	45.2	34.7				45.8			$14,649	$1,120	$13,529

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Northwest Georgia Charter Academy	8.82 mi	1
State Schools	8.93 mi	3
Floyd County	10.33 mi	17	26^th
Paulding County	14.55 mi	36	88^th
Haralson County	14.83 mi	7	20^th

See the top GA Georgia districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Georgia Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.