Summary:
Zip code 30401 in Swainsboro, Georgia, is served by two elementary schools within the Emanuel County school district, which holds a 3-star rating and ranks in the 65th percentile statewide. Swainsboro Primary School (grades PK-2) enrolls 833 students, while Swainsboro Elementary School (grades 3-5) enrolls 627 students. Both schools report 100% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, making this a high-poverty educational environment where results are nonetheless competitive with state averages in several areas.
Swainsboro Elementary stands out for its dramatic academic gains. In mathematics, 3rd grade proficiency jumped from 34.6% to 50.8% year-over-year—now exceeding the state average—while 5th grade improved from 17.9% to 30.7% and 4th grade rose from 22.7% to 29.9%. The school's state ranking improved from the 26th to the 37th percentile, earning a 2-star rating. However, 4th grade math remains a persistent weakness at 29.9% proficiency, a 20.2-point gap versus the state, and 5th grade science trails at 31.8% compared to the state's 44.2%. By contrast, Swainsboro Primary, the larger school, has no published test scores but shows a higher chronic absenteeism rate (19.5%) than its counterpart (15.1%), which falls below both district and state averages.
Resource allocation differs notably between the two schools. Swainsboro Primary spends $13,849 per student—about $931 more than Swainsboro Elementary—yet maintains a higher student-teacher ratio (13.9:1 vs. 12.8:1), suggesting the extra funds go toward non-instructional supports for younger learners. A clear pattern emerges at Swainsboro Elementary: math proficiency declines as students advance, from 50.8% in 3rd grade to 29.9% in 4th, with only a slight recovery to 30.7% in 5th grade. This may reflect increasing rigor or accumulating learning gaps. Given the current trajectory, Swainsboro Elementary could reach the 50th percentile (3 stars) within a few years, making it a school to watch for continued improvement.
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