Summary:
Cooper-Carver Elementary School is the sole elementary school serving grades PK-5 in Terrell County, Georgia, a rural district in the southwestern part of the state where all 440 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Cooper-Carver faces significant academic challenges, with its state ranking dropping sharply from the 28th percentile in 2024-2025 to the 12th percentile in 2025-2026. The most concerning data point is 5th-grade mathematics, where only 8.8% of students are proficient—a staggering 35 points below the state average and a nearly 10-point decline from the prior year. Science proficiency in 5th grade also fell to 25%, down about 8 points. However, there is a notable bright spot: 4th-grade math proficiency nearly doubled from 16.7% to 31.2%, suggesting that targeted interventions at that grade level may be working. Third-grade math slipped slightly to 27.7%, still about 20 points behind the state. While current-year ELA scores are not yet available, last year's results showed 5th-grade ELA was the school's strongest subject at 41.4% proficiency, nearly matching the state average.
Despite the academic struggles, the school shows some positive indicators. Chronic absenteeism stands at 14.4%, which is better than both the district (18.9%) and state (17.7%) averages, meaning students are consistently attending school. The school also spends a substantial $18,297 per student with a favorable 15.2:1 student-teacher ratio. The inconsistent performance across grade levels—ranging from 8.8% to 31.2% in math—suggests students may be losing ground as they progress, or that instructional approaches vary significantly by grade. With 100% of students living in poverty, the school faces considerable headwinds, but the 4th-grade math improvement offers a potential model for replicating success across other grades and subjects. Overall, Cooper-Carver is trending downward and requires urgent, targeted intervention, particularly in 5th-grade mathematics.
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