Summary:
Zip code 30223 in Griffin, Georgia, is served by two middle schools—Cowan Road Middle School and Kennedy Road Middle School—both part of the Griffin-Spalding County district, which ranks in the bottom 15% of Georgia districts.
Both schools serve grades 6-8 and report 100% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, indicating a high-poverty area. Kennedy Road Middle School holds a slight edge in 6th and 7th grade math proficiency (16.2% vs. 10.4% in 6th grade; 22.3% vs. 18.1% in 7th grade) and in high school Physical Science (24.1% vs. 17.4%). However, Cowan Road Middle School is the standout in Algebra I, with 52.2% proficiency—nearly double the district average (28.2%) and above the state average (48.1%). Kennedy Road’s Algebra I proficiency dropped sharply from 65.4% to 32.1% year-over-year, a decline worth investigating. Both schools rank in the bottom 10% statewide, with Cowan Road at 526th and Kennedy Road at 529th out of 578 schools.
Chronic absenteeism is a critical concern: 31.4% of Cowan Road and 33.4% of Kennedy Road students are chronically absent, nearly double the state rate of 17.7%. Proficiency in core subjects is dramatically below state averages—for example, only 5.8% of Cowan Road and 3.7% of Kennedy Road 8th graders are proficient in science, versus 29.7% statewide. Despite spending over $13,500 per student and maintaining favorable student-teacher ratios (14:1 and 13.7:1), outcomes remain low, suggesting resources alone aren’t solving systemic challenges. Both schools show year-over-year volatility in test scores, and they perform below district averages in most subjects. Relative strengths appear in advanced coursework like Algebra I and Physical Science, but overall, these schools face significant hurdles tied to poverty and absenteeism.
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