State Specialty Schools II- Miles Ahead Charter School

Miles Ahead Charter School is the sole school in the State Specialty Schools II- Miles Ahead Charter School district, serving grades K-5 in Powder Springs, Georgia, with 261 students.

This school is facing significant academic challenges despite having strong resources. The school spends $16,834 per student and maintains a favorable 11.6:1 student-teacher ratio, yet its state ranking has fallen from the 41st percentile in 2024-2025 to the 18th percentile in 2025-2026, dropping from a 2-star to a 1-star rating. In the most recent math scores, the school trails the state average at every grade level, with the gap widening as students get older: 3rd graders are 14.1 points behind, 4th graders are 19.3 points behind, and 5th graders are 25.1 points behind. Science scores show a similar pattern, with 5th graders at 19% proficiency compared to the state's 44.2%. The most recent English Language Arts data (from 2024-2025) shows a bright spot in 3rd grade, where students outperformed the state by 5.7 points, but 4th and 5th graders fell behind by 9.3 and 5.5 points respectively.

There are a few notable trends worth watching. The 4th grade math proficiency rate improved dramatically from just 5% in 2024-2025 to 30.8% in 2025-2026, a six-fold increase that suggests either a successful intervention or an outlier year previously. However, 5th grade math declined from 25% to 19%, and science dropped from 25% to 19% as well. Chronic absenteeism is a concern, with 22.5% of students chronically absent compared to the state average of 17.7%. With roughly 1 in 4 students missing significant school time, this likely contributes to the academic struggles, especially in upper grades where the material becomes more complex. While the school has resources and a few encouraging signs, parents should be aware that overall academic performance remains well below state averages, and the downward trend in upper grades is concerning.