CA Gray Junior High School

CA Gray Junior High School in Moultrie, GA, serves 1,389 students in grades 8-9 as part of the Colquitt County school district, and it stands out for its remarkable strengths in science while also showing steady progress in other subjects.

The most striking finding is the school's exceptional performance in science. In Biology End of Course assessments, 87.5% of students scored proficient in 2024-2025—nearly double the district (45.1%) and state (44.2%) averages. This isn't a one-year fluke; proficiency has stayed consistently above 86% for three straight years. Similarly, 85.4% of 8th graders scored proficient in High School Physical Science, beating the state average by 24.5 points. The school has also shown dramatic improvement in Algebra I, jumping from 31.1% proficiency in 2022-2023 to 45.6% in 2024-2025, with preliminary 2025-2026 data suggesting an extraordinary leap to 97.5%—more than double the district and state averages. While that latest figure warrants verification, the upward trend is clear.

However, the picture is mixed. In 8th-grade Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies, the school still trails state averages by 5-15 points, though it has shown consistent improvement over four years (math rose from 22.4% to 45.3%). Chronic absenteeism has improved dramatically, dropping from 33.3% in 2021-2022 to 18.2% in 2025-2026, though it still slightly exceeds state (17.7%) and district (15.1%) averages. The dropout rate is a bright spot at just 1.0%, less than half the state average. The school serves a 100% economically disadvantaged population, and per-student spending has increased 24% over four years to $11,727. With no other schools within 20 miles, CA Gray is the primary option for local families, and its science program in particular appears to be a standout model worth celebrating.