Cass Middle School, Cartersville GA

Original Research by School Decision on Cass Middle School

Cass Middle School serves students in grades six through eight in Cartersville, a mixed-use small city anchored by manufacturing and historic downtown character roughly forty-four miles north of Atlanta. The school serves a student body of roughly nine hundred, with a substantial majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, a student population reflecting Cartersville's economic composition. The school's enrollment sits evenly across the three middle grades, with slightly more in sixth grade than seventh or eighth.

The student body is majority white, with substantial shares of Hispanic and Black students, and smaller numbers of Asian, multiracial, and American Indian students. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available.

Cass Middle School's academic performance shows uneven terrain across subjects. Math proficiency displays an upward trend across grades: sixth graders show lower results, seventh graders move up notably, and eighth graders reach substantially higher results. English language arts remains flat across all grades at a consistent level. Science proficiency in eighth grade stands notably low. Social studies proficiency, measured only in eighth grade, also sits well below half of students achieving proficiency. Overall, Cass Middle School sits in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Bartow County when comparing proficiency across tested subjects and grades.

The math results suggest the school may be supporting progression through the middle grades better in quantitative reasoning than in reading or writing, where results plateau. The science numbers warrant closer attention, as only about a quarter of eighth graders met proficiency. A parent considering the school might want to explore with Cass staff what shapes the science outcomes and whether supports are in place to help students catch up in that domain.

Cartersville itself is experiencing strong growth. Industrial investment from manufacturers and new solar production, coupled with multiple new residential subdivisions and a building campaign, are reshaping the city. This means the school may be absorbing rising enrollment and new student populations, a context that can affect both instructional stability and school culture. The Bartow County School District has also announced it will opt out of Georgia's statewide homestead exemption for school property taxes, meaning families should understand that annual tax growth is not capped by inflation in this district as it would be statewide.

Cass Middle School is a regular public school with no specialized programs noted in available data. It sits in a community with civic anchors including parks, libraries, and performing arts, though school facilities themselves sit on separated campuses outside the historic downtown core.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 36% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 45% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 60% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 41% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 40% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 40% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median

Science

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 23% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 34% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median

This schoolBartow County, 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 6Lower-income33%Higher-income62%29 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income29%Higher-income52%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income34%Higher-income63%30 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income32%Higher-income59%27 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income27%Higher-income58%31 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income26%Higher-income49%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income47%Higher-income70%23 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income33%Higher-income59%26 pp gap