Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

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.

Friendship Elementary School

Q: Is Friendship Elementary School a good school?

Friendship Elementary School ranks 757 th of 1222 Georgia elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

757^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,222 Georgia Elementary Schools

Better than 38% of Georgia elementary schools

Summary

Friendship Elementary School in Buford, GA, serves approximately 673 students in grades PK-5 as part of Hall County, and currently holds a 2-star rating (38th percentile statewide), down from a 3-star rating the previous year.

One of the school’s clearest strengths is attendance. Chronic absenteeism has dropped dramatically—from 20.1% in 2022-2023 to just 9.1% now—which is about half the district rate (18.6%) and well below the state average (17.7%). This suggests strong family engagement and effective attendance initiatives. In math, 3rd and 4th graders outperform the district average (44.7% and 45.5% proficient, respectively), though 5th grade math dips to 33%, below both district and state levels. Science is a notable concern: only 22.8% of 5th graders are proficient, compared to 44.2% statewide. Nearby Ivy Creek Elementary (75.5%) and Spout Springs Elementary (57.9%) show much higher science proficiency, though Martin Elementary (20.6%) is similar to Friendship.

Subgroup results vary widely. English Language Learners perform relatively well (57th percentile statewide), but Special Education students rank in the 9th percentile, and White students in the 12th. The school’s 5th grade challenge is consistent across subjects and years, suggesting a key intervention point. On a positive note, historical ELA data (before this year’s release) showed meaningful gains, especially in 3rd grade (from 27.1% to 38.6% proficiency) and 5th grade (26% to 40.2%). Per-student spending is $13,572 with a favorable 15:1 student-teacher ratio—comparable to or better than several higher-performing neighbors like Flowery Branch Elementary ($11,803) and Spout Springs Elementary ($11,544). While Friendship’s overall ranking has fluctuated over the past decade, the strong progress in attendance and literacy suggests targeted efforts can yield results, and the school’s success with ELL students offers a foundation to build upon.

673

Students ?

15.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,572

Per pupil spending ?

62.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4450 Friendship Rd
Buford, GA 30519

(770) 932-1223

District: Hall County

Students who attend Friendship Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	C. W. Davis Middle School
High:	Flowery Branch High

Racial breakdown:

White:

43.8%

Hispanic:

38.2%

African American:

7.7%

See top rated Georgia elementary schools

Compare Friendship Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 54th percentile in 2016 → 38th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Georgia average (36% vs 47% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 16 percentile points since 2016

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school36%

District avg37%

Georgia avg47%

757^th of 1,222

Georgia public elementary schools ?

Bottom 38%▼ down 16 pts since 2016

From top 46% (2016) to bottom 38% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Georgia Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

10^th of 17Elementary Schools in the Hall County

120^th of 202Hall County among Georgia districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	34.8	757 of 1222	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	47.3	602 of 1238	51.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	36.8	741 of 1236	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.4	783 of 1223	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	45.7	608 of 1220	50.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	44.2	630 of 1214	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	49.4	590 of 1234	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	46.6	608 of 1209	49.7%	★★☆☆☆
2017	50.1	552 of 1205	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2016	49.8	570 of 1233	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2015	57.5	475 of 1240	61.7%	★★★☆☆
2014	68.4	428 of 1231	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2013	66.1	461 of 1225	62.4%	★★★☆☆
2012	71.7	353 of 1201	70.6%	★★★★☆
2011	77.4	255 of 1212	79.0%	★★★★☆
2010	66.7	433 of 1183	63.4%	★★★☆☆
2009	73.2	279 of 1133	75.4%	★★★★☆
2008	77.6	203 of 1134	82.1%	★★★★☆
2007	69.8	353 of 1125	68.6%	★★★☆☆
2006	75.8	247 of 1101	77.6%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2023	33.3	568 of 870	34.7%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	45.6	92 of 215	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2025	49.5	120 of 317	62.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	34.1	220 of 304	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.5	270 of 286	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	46.0	133 of 283	53.0%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	43.4	620 of 1189	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	48.9	574 of 1224	53.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	38.7	713 of 1223	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.2	783 of 1212	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	38.2	721 of 1206	40.2%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	30.6	365 of 504	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	44.3	309 of 583	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	19.6	499 of 565	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.1	458 of 535	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.3	405 of 516	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	28.1	854 of 1186	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	45.3	622 of 1225	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	35.2	768 of 1220	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.2	765 of 1210	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	52.7	532 of 1209	56.0%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	18.6	421 of 466	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	17.6	505 of 565	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.6	388 of 487	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	48.2	186 of 455	59.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	37.3	233 of 415	43.9%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	17.0	616 of 703	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	24.5	604 of 769	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.6	630 of 772	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.9	686 of 775	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.0	606 of 779	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2026)57th percentile+19 vs school

Female (2026)48th percentile+10 vs school

African American (2023)35th percentile~ school

Male (2026)28th percentile-10 vs school

Hispanic (2026)28th percentile-10 vs school

White (2026)12th percentile-26 vs school

Special Education (2026)10th percentile-28 vs school

By subject vs Georgia (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics41%-7 vs state

Science23%-21 vs state

5.0

2 ratings · 1 written review

5★2

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★0

Rate Friendship Elementary School

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, September 28, 2017

Fantastic Elementary School!
We greatly appreciate having our children in this school and Dr. Brack (and all of their teachers) are amazing. Close Quote

Schools Near Friendship Elementary School

Load more schools when map is moved

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 Mathematics (2026)			Milestones Assessment Science (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 Mathematics 3rd Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Milestones Assessment Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Friendship Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4450 Friendship Rd	Buford	30519	Gwinnett County	Hall County	No	No	No	Yes	(770) 932-1223	673	45	15.0	62.7%	295 (43.8%)	52 (7.7%)	257 (38.2%)	26 (3.9%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (5.9%)	34.8	757^th of 1222 public elementary schools	38.1%		47.3	602^nd of 1238 public elementary schools	51.4%	155	44.7	45.5	33.0	22.8	$13,572	$695	$12,877
Ivy Creek Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3443 Ridge Rd	Buford	30519	Gwinnett County	Gwinnett County	No	No	No	No	(678) 714-3655	1,507	99	15.2	39.7%	425 (28.2%)	298 (19.8%)	292 (19.4%)	406 (26.9%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	84 (5.6%)	95	74^th of 1222 public elementary schools	93.9%		93.5	93^rd of 1238 public elementary schools	92.5%	19	78.1	78.4	73.8	75.5	$13,141	$467	$12,674
Buford Senior Academy	Public	3-5	2700 Robert Bell Pkwy	Buford	30518	Gwinnett County	Buford City	No	No	No	Yes	(678) 546-0414	1,368	85	16.1	36.8%	627 (45.8%)	137 (10.0%)	372 (27.2%)	145 (10.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	86 (6.3%)	91.2	116^th of 1222 public elementary schools	90.5%		90.9	122^nd of 1238 public elementary schools	90.1%	6	74.1	71.3	68.5	69.7	$12,081	$331	$11,750
Buford Academy	Public	1-2	2705 Robert Bell Pkwy	Buford	30518	Gwinnett County	Buford City	No	No	No	Yes	(678) 482-6960	816	61	13.4	39.8%	361 (44.2%)	81 (9.9%)	242 (29.7%)	86 (10.5%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	43 (5.3%)								(n/a)					$17,433	$584	$16,849
Spout Springs Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	6640 Spout Springs Rd	Flowery Branch	30542	Hall County	Hall County	No	No	No	No	(770) 967-4860	855	48	17.7	22.9%	620 (72.5%)	36 (4.2%)	135 (15.8%)	23 (2.7%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (4.6%)	82.2	200^th of 1222 public elementary schools	83.6%		80.3	232^nd of 1238 public elementary schools	81.3%	32	58.0	69.4	65.2	57.9	$11,544	$324	$11,220
Buford Elementary School	Public	PK-K	2500 Sawnee Ave	Buford	30518	Gwinnett County	Buford City	No	No	No	No	(770) 945-5248	431	34	12.6	34.1%	211 (49.0%)	46 (10.7%)	113 (26.2%)	37 (8.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (5.6%)								(n/a)					$23,993	$623	$23,370
Patrick Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2707 Kilgore Rd	Buford	30519	Gwinnett County	Gwinnett County	No	No	No	No	(678) 765-5260	999	70	14.2	49.5%	160 (16.0%)	309 (30.9%)	235 (23.5%)	230 (23.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	64 (6.4%)	70.6	317^th of 1222 public elementary schools	74.1%		67.7	355^th of 1238 public elementary schools	71.3%	38	57.9	60.7	50.0	51.1	$14,123	$703	$13,419
Harmony Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3946 S Bogan Rd	Buford	30519	Gwinnett County	Gwinnett County	No	No	No	No	(770) 945-7272	614	54	11.4	38.9%	190 (30.9%)	158 (25.7%)	100 (16.3%)	123 (20.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	42 (6.8%)	87.1	158^th of 1222 public elementary schools	87.1%		80.4	229^th of 1238 public elementary schools	81.5%	71	60.0	74.8	64.1	71.8	$16,446	$443	$16,004
Flowery Branch Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5544 Radford Rd	Flowery Branch	30542	Hall County	Hall County	No	No	No	No	(770) 967-6621	711	45	15.7	63.9%	304 (42.8%)	76 (10.7%)	260 (36.6%)	29 (4.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (5.6%)	44.6	626^th of 1222 public elementary schools	48.8%		29.3	845^th of 1238 public elementary schools	31.7%	219	43.1	49.6	34.5	38.7	$11,803	$654	$11,149
Puckett's Mill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2442 S Pucketts Mill Rd	Dacula	30019	Gwinnett County	Gwinnett County	No	No	No	No	(678) 765-5110	794	60	13.3	31.0%	341 (42.9%)	158 (19.9%)	111 (14.0%)	123 (15.5%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	59 (7.4%)	93.4	92^nd of 1222 public elementary schools	92.5%		93.6	90^th of 1238 public elementary schools	92.7%	2	73.6	75.3	71.9	74.5	$15,831	$494	$15,336

Frequently Asked Questions about Friendship Elementary School

How many students attend Friendship Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 673 students attended Friendship Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Friendship Elementary School?

Students at Friendship Elementary School are 44% White, 38% Hispanic, 8% African American, 6% Two or more races, 4% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Friendship Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Friendship Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : C. W. Davis Middle School
High : Flowery Branch High

Is Friendship Elementary School a good school?

Friendship Elementary School ranks 757^th of 1222 Georgia elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Friendship Elementary School in?

Hall County

Rate Friendship Elementary School!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

GAGeorgia Elementary School Rankings

GAGeorgia District Rankings

Schools in Buford, GA

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Friendship Elementary School!

Latest Georgia data All new data »

2025–26 attendance dataAug 6, 2026

2025–26 Milestones Assessment scoresAug 6, 2026

2021–22 through 2024–25 Milestones Assessment scores (updated)Aug 6, 2026

2024–25 dropout ratesFeb 19, 2026

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.