Calhoun Elementary School, Calhoun GA

Original Research by School Decision on Calhoun Elementary School

Calhoun Elementary serves grades four through six in the small city of Calhoun, the county seat of Gordon County in northwest Georgia. The school enrolls a diverse student body that is roughly split between White and Hispanic students, with smaller shares of Black and multiracial pupils. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the surrounding community.

The city itself is anchored by a walkable downtown historic district with restaurants, shops, and the courthouse square, though most residential neighborhoods are auto-oriented. The local economy is dominated by the flooring and carpet industry, with major employers including Mohawk Industries and Shaw Industries, as well as healthcare through AdventHealth Gordon. The region is experiencing active growth, with new housing developments and an expanding warehouse and logistics corridor along Interstate 75, which sits nearby and connects Calhoun to Atlanta and Chattanooga.

On state assessments administered in the most recent school year, Calhoun Elementary's academic results reflect significant gaps. In English language arts across grades four through six, proficiency rates fall in the low to mid-range, with the lowest results in grade four. Math performance is weaker still, particularly in grade six where proficiency drops notably. Grade five science results show somewhat stronger proficiency. In a 2013-14 social studies assessment, the school's proficiency rate was substantially higher, though that test no longer contributes to current state accountability measures.

The overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places the school above the midpoint of districts in Gordon County. This is a meaningful positioning, though it reflects performance that remains substantially below state proficiency benchmarks across the board. Parents considering the school may want to look further into the underlying instructional supports, classroom composition, and any targeted interventions the school has in place to address the math proficiency gap in particular.

Calhoun Elementary sits within the Calhoun City School District, which is separate from the larger Gordon County Schools serving the surrounding county areas. In February 2025, the Calhoun City Schools Board formally opted out of Georgia's statewide floating homestead exemption that limits annual property tax assessment increases. This decision means homeowners in the district will not receive the cap on school tax increases tied to inflation; instead, school property taxes will continue to track fair market value. For families evaluating a move into the district, this is a material cost consideration, since school millage typically represents the largest line on Georgia property tax bills.

The school's location in a walkable downtown region with civic amenities including the Calhoun-Gordon County Library, the Harris Arts Center, and parks provides students and families access to community institutions beyond the school walls. The broader growth context—new residential developments, in-migration, and expanding employment—suggests a community in transition, with families arriving for jobs and lower cost of living compared to Atlanta.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 45%

even with state median

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 2 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 34%

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 3 pts below state median

Science

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 46%

▲ 7 pts above state median

Social studies

Grades 3-890%

School 90% · district not reported

▲ 7 pts above state median

This schoolCalhoun City, 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-income23%Higher-income34%11 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income21%Higher-income46%25 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income63%34 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income52%Higher-income64%12 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income33%Higher-income58%25 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income30%Higher-income44%14 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income62%27 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income35%Higher-income68%33 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income35%Higher-income60%25 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income35%Higher-income63%28 pp gap