Hopkins Elementary School

Hopkins Elementary School in Lilburn, GA, serves approximately 1,113 students in grades PK-5 as part of Gwinnett County Public Schools, with 87.6% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.

Hopkins has faced persistent academic challenges, ranking in the bottom quartile of Georgia elementary schools for five consecutive years. In the most recent testing cycle, math proficiency rates ranged from 25.4% (3rd grade) to 33.3% (5th grade), compared to district averages of 51.6-56.8%. The contrast with nearby Arcado Elementary, located just 2.5 miles away, is striking—Arcado posted math proficiency rates of 61.5-67.1%, more than double Hopkins' rates. Even Knight Elementary achieved math proficiency of 50-54.9%, nearly 20 percentage points higher. However, Lilburn Elementary, serving a similar poverty population (89.0%), outperforms Hopkins by 10-17 percentage points in math, showing that high poverty does not inevitably lead to low performance.

Despite these challenges, there are meaningful signs of progress. Chronic absenteeism has dropped dramatically from 26.1% in 2022-2023 to 15.0% in 2025-2026—now matching the district average and below the state average of 17.7%. Science emerged as a relative strength, with 40.1% of 5th graders scoring proficient, up from 30.8% the previous year. English Language Learner students rank in the 47th percentile statewide, the highest relative performance of any subgroup. The school's state ranking improved from 1,032nd to 885th, and math scores showed modest gains in 3rd and 5th grades. Hopkins spends $16,048 per student—among the highest in the area—and maintains a favorable 11.6:1 student-teacher ratio. While the school still has substantial work ahead to close the 25-30 point gap with district averages, the combination of improved attendance, rising science scores, and strong resource allocation suggests recent initiatives may be taking hold.