Red Top Middle School, Emerson GA

Original Research by School Decision on Red Top Middle School

Red Top Middle School serves grades six through eight in Emerson, a small city in southern Bartow County anchored by the LakePoint Sporting Community and its associated visitor traffic and new residential development. The school sits on a standalone campus rather than in a walkable town center; the area mixes older residential neighborhoods with newer subdivisions and auto-oriented commercial growth tied to youth sports tourism.

The school's academic performance presents a clear challenge. Across all tested grades and subjects, proficiency rates are low. In math, students in grades six, seven, and eight show proficiency rates in the low to mid range. English language arts proficiency is similarly modest across sixth and seventh grade, and drops further in eighth grade. Eighth-grade science proficiency is particularly weak. Social studies proficiency in eighth grade is also low. When compared against the two other districts in Bartow County, Red Top's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among its county neighbors.

The school's enrollment of about mid-sized for a middle school draws from a student population with substantial economic need: more than four out of five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The racial and ethnic makeup is mixed, with white students making up roughly half the enrollment, Hispanic students about one-third, Black students roughly one-tenth, and smaller numbers of Asian and multiracial students. Data on special education enrollment and English learner enrollment were not available.

A parent considering Red Top should understand that state assessment results show students are not meeting proficiency benchmarks in core subjects at rates that would position them well for high school work. The school faces a student body with significant economic pressures, which research shows correlates with academic challenges. Parents may want to discuss directly with the school what literacy and numeracy supports are in place, what remediation or acceleration pathways exist, and how the school approaches the transition to high school given these proficiency patterns.

Emerson itself is on a growth trajectory. The LakePoint complex and adjacent residential developments like Stegall Village are attracting new families, and Bartow County assessments describe the area as one of the few jurisdictions in the region that has adopted a framework supporting diverse housing types. Housing values in the Emerson area are moderate relative to state and national benchmarks, though two recent shifts in school taxes affect the long-term cost of residence: the school district opted out of the statewide floating homestead exemption that would have capped annual assessment growth, and senior exemptions were substantially expanded in 2023. A parent or prospective resident may want to factor both of these into long-term property tax planning.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 36% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 741%

School 41% · District 45% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 60% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 41% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 40% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 40% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median

Science

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 23% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 34% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below 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-income31%Higher-income56%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income25%Higher-income50%25 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income44%11 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income30%Higher-income50%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income31%Higher-income50%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income26%Higher-income54%27 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income39%Higher-income53%14 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income32%Higher-income52%20 pp gap