The top reported proficiency rate is 31% in English language arts. The lowest is 25% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Callaway Middle School
Callaway Middle School serves a student population of around mid-single-digit hundreds, with enrollment roughly balanced across sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. The school is located in LaGrange, a mid-sized west Georgia city that anchors Troup County and sits roughly an hour southwest of Atlanta. LaGrange itself is a mixed working and heritage community built around a historic downtown square, with a strong manufacturing economy and a college presence through LaGrange College. The area has been experiencing sustained growth driven by automotive suppliers, distribution centers, and recent corporate relocations.
The student body at Callaway is economically vulnerable. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which signals concentrated economic need. Racially, the enrollment is diverse: roughly half the students are Black, more than a third are white, and smaller shares identify as Hispanic or Asian. The overall enrollment size and demographic mix reflect the demographics of the broader Troup County school district and the LaGrange area.
On state assessments administered in spring 2025, Callaway's proficiency rates fall in a lower range across all tested subjects and grades. In math, proficiency runs between roughly a quarter and a third across sixth through eighth grade. English language arts proficiency is similarly positioned, with performance in the low-thirties percentagewise in sixth and seventh grade and just under a third in eighth grade. Eighth grade science proficiency is around a third, and eighth grade social studies proficiency is considerably lower at a quarter. The school has only one year of comparable data at this time, so trend information is not yet available. The state's assessment structure means that grades six and seven are tested only in math and ELA; science and social studies testing occurs in eighth grade.
Economically, LaGrange housing values are below state and national benchmarks, placing it in a more affordable range for the region. Median rents are also moderate. The affordability picture suggests that families moving to the area may find entry-level or working-class housing within reach, though the broader economic context includes modest local unemployment and a median household income that sits somewhat below national figures.
The Troup County School System, of which Callaway is part, has sustained capital investment through ESPLOST VI, a one-cent education sales tax continuation voters approved in 2021, funding facility renovations and bus fleet replacement district-wide. The district has also recently adopted universal dyslexia and reading screeners aligned with Science of Reading instruction in early elementary grades, a curriculum shift that will flow through the system. For families, these moves signal ongoing facility maintenance and a deliberate focus on foundational literacy.
A parent or family considering Callaway should understand that the school serves students with significant economic challenges and that tested academic proficiency across core subjects is materially below state norms. The school's role in the broader context is as a standard public middle school in a working-class, growing county seat. Whether this environment and these outcomes fit a family's needs would depend on proximity, school choice options, and what academic supports or alternative settings might be available within or outside the district.
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