Summary:
There are three middle schools serving zip code 30310 in southwest Atlanta, all part of Atlanta Public Schools, and all serving grades 6-8 with 96-100% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.
Kipp Strive Charter School is the clear standout in this area, ranking 274th out of 578 Georgia middle schools (53rd percentile) with a 3-star rating. This is dramatically higher than Sylvan Hills Middle School (419th, 28th percentile) and Herman J. Russell West End Academy (447th, 23rd percentile). Kipp Strive also has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 15.7%—actually better than the state average of 17.7%—compared to 35.1% at Russell West End and 43.5% at Sylvan Hills. In 8th-grade math, Kipp Strive and Sylvan Hills both hit 39.6% proficiency, well above Russell West End's 18.3%, and Kipp Strive leads in 8th-grade science (38.5%) and social studies (49.5%) by wide margins.
Perhaps the most striking finding is that spending does not correlate with outcomes. Russell West End spends $35,178 per student with an 8.8:1 student-teacher ratio, yet it underperforms Kipp Strive, which spends just $22,282 per student with a 12.8:1 ratio, in every subject and grade tested. Sylvan Hills offers an interesting anomaly: its Algebra I proficiency rate is an extraordinary 90.9%, more than double the district rate of 41.7%, despite its overall math scores lagging behind. Kipp Strive has also shown remarkable improvement, jumping from the 31st percentile to the 53rd percentile in a single year. For parents, Kipp Strive clearly offers the strongest overall academic environment, while Sylvan Hills may be worth considering for students ready for advanced math coursework.
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