Sara Rawson Smith Elementary School, Atlanta GA

Original Research by School Decision on Sara Rawson Smith Elementary School

Sara Rawson Smith Elementary School serves students from pre-K through fifth grade in an intown Atlanta neighborhood with substantial housing demand. The school enrolls a mixed student body with major representation across racial and ethnic groups: roughly a third Black students, somewhat less than a third white students, about one-fifth Hispanic students, and smaller shares of Asian, multiracial, and other backgrounds. About one-third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a moderately diverse economic context for an Atlanta public school.

The state testing data from this past spring shows proficiency rates in the middle range across tested grades and subjects. In English language arts, third through fifth graders averaged just over half at proficiency, with fifth grade strongest at roughly fifty-eight percent and fourth grade lowest at roughly forty-eight percent. Math proficiency ran somewhat lower, with fourth grade at roughly forty-four percent, third at roughly forty-nine percent, and fifth grade somewhat stronger at roughly fifty-four percent. Fifth-grade science was at roughly fifty-five percent. Overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades lands the school in the top quartile within Fulton County districts, a position that reflects the school's enrollment and neighborhood context relative to Atlanta's full portfolio.

The school sits in a neighborhood with substantial home values, well above state benchmarks, and rental costs reflecting the broader intown Atlanta market. Families in this zone are managing housing costs typical of established Atlanta neighborhoods with ongoing development pressure and strong employment anchors nearby. The area is increasingly shaped by the Atlanta BeltLine, the 22-mile trail and future transit corridor that has become the city's dominant growth vector. Intown neighborhoods like those surrounding this school have seen concentrated infill development in recent years.

Parents should be aware that Atlanta Public Schools is undergoing significant restructuring. In December the school board approved the APS Forward plan, which will close, merge, or repurpose sixteen schools beginning in 2027-2028, reshaping attendance boundaries and reassigning students and staff. While closures are concentrated in northwest and southwest Atlanta neighborhoods, families considering this school should confirm with the district whether Sara Rawson Smith is affected or how boundary changes might alter commute patterns and program access in coming years. The district has also invested substantially in early-literacy instruction across elementary schools through its science-of-reading initiative, a curriculum change that directly shapes how reading is taught in the earliest grades. Additionally, APS moved its school nutrition program in-house in 2024-2025, meaning cafeteria workers are now district employees and meals are sourced differently than under prior vendor arrangements, a tangible change for families using school breakfast and lunch.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 349%

School 49% · District 41% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 41% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 35% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 353%

School 53% · District 35% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 38% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 39% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Science

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 38% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Social studies

Grades 3-894%

School 94% · district not reported

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

This schoolAtlanta Public Schools, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income21%Higher-income70%49 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income67%41 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income73%23 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income31%Higher-income70%39 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income19%Higher-income70%50 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income58%32 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income21%Higher-income57%35 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income22%Higher-income62%39 pp gap