Summary:
Zip code 30506 in Gainesville, Georgia, is served by two middle schools within the Hall County School District: Chestatee Middle School and North Hall Middle School, both enrolling roughly 830 students in grades 6-8.
North Hall Middle School is the clear academic leader in this area, ranking 198th out of 578 Georgia middle schools (66th percentile) compared to Chestatee's 308th place (47th percentile). The gap is most dramatic in Algebra I, where 96.4% of North Hall students scored proficient or better versus 74.3% at Chestatee—both far exceeding the state average of 48.1%. North Hall also dominates in 8th grade Social Studies (56.2% vs. 29.7%) and 8th grade Math (61.3% vs. 46%). However, Chestatee outperforms North Hall in 8th grade Science (19.3% vs. 15.6%), though both schools trail the state average of 29.7%. Notably, Chestatee has improved its state ranking over the past year, moving from 338th to 308th, while North Hall has slipped slightly from its 2023-2024 peak of 167th.
Socioeconomic factors and attendance appear to drive much of the performance difference. Chestatee has a 71.5% free/reduced lunch rate versus 41.8% at North Hall, and Chestatee's chronic absenteeism rate of 25.1% is significantly higher than North Hall's 16.1% and the state average of 17.7%. Interestingly, Chestatee spends more per student ($13,946 vs. $12,580) and has a lower student-teacher ratio (12.5:1 vs. 14.1:1), yet these additional resources have not translated into better outcomes. Both schools share a common weakness in 8th grade science, and English Language Arts scores for the current year will be released in December, which will provide a more complete picture of academic performance in this area.
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