Summary:
Putnam County CUSD 535 has four schools serving prekindergarten through grade 12, with 773 students across its primary, elementary, junior high and high school. The clearest concern for families weighing outcomes is that Putnam County High School’s ACT proficiency results are well below state results, even as its graduation rate is strong.
Putnam County Elementary School and Putnam County Junior High School stand out for ELA: each reports about 66% proficient overall, versus 56% statewide, a 10-point advantage. Elementary’s fifth-grade science is a particular strength at 67%, compared with 48% statewide. By contrast, High School is below state results in all three grade 11 ACT subjects: 37% in ELA versus 50%, 27% in math versus 40%, and 36% in science versus 48%—gaps of about 12 to 13 points. Its 96% graduation rate is 7 points above the state’s 90%. Results vary within schools, too: Junior High’s eighth-grade science was 14 points below state in 2025–26, after being 12 points above in 2024–25.
Recent results show different trajectories: Junior High’s all-grades ELA gap shifted from 6 points below state in 2024–25 to 10 points above in 2025–26, while High School’s ACT gaps widened, particularly in math. SchoolDigger’s percentile ranking fell from 72 to 32 for High School over three years; Elementary’s fell from 73 to 61, while Junior High ended at 47, one point above its starting rank. Among the three schools with test results, student–teacher ratios are close, from 10.1 to 10.5. Their free/reduced lunch eligible shares were also similar in sy 2024–25: 38% to 40%; these are observations, not explanations for scores. Putnam County Primary School has no test scores in the supplied data, so comparisons of academic results cover only the other three schools.
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