Elite Scholars Academy School, Jonesboro GA

Original Research by School Decision on Elite Scholars Academy School

Elite Scholars Academy School is a public middle and high school serving grades six through twelve in Jonesboro, a small county seat about eighteen miles south of downtown Atlanta. The school enrolls a student body of roughly seven hundred students, most of whom are Black, with substantial Asian and Hispanic representation and a modest share who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The school's academic performance stands out. Across sixth, seventh, and eighth grade mathematics, proficiency rates are very high, with seventh graders performing at the top of the range. English language arts proficiency is consistently in the high ninety-percentile range across the same grades. In the tested science and social studies assessment at eighth grade, proficiency remains solidly in the low-to-mid ninety-percentile range. When aggregated across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to other districts in Clayton County. This is strong performance across the board.

Georgia state testing data is available only for grades six through eight. The school's high school grades (nine through twelve) do not have corresponding state assessment reporting in the provided data, so patterns at the secondary level cannot be characterized from state testing alone. A parent may want to look into what academic and course-based measures exist at the high school level.

The school is housed in a suburban setting on Fielder Road in Jonesboro, not in the town's compact historic downtown. Like most schools in the district, it sits on a campus reached via the broader road network. The town itself is undergoing downtown revitalization, with new mixed-use housing and restaurant development, though much of Jonesboro remains car-oriented along Tara Boulevard and U.S. 41. Lee Street Park in the downtown core hosts the farmers market and community events.

Clayton County as a whole has recently passed a large education bond and is undertaking a multi-year rebuild or renovation of aging schools across the district, including a new convocation center and career academy facility scheduled to open in 2025. The district has also adopted Science-of-Reading-based literacy instruction with universal screening in elementary grades. These district-wide shifts do not yet appear directly reflected in high school outcomes data for this school, but they signal the broader institutional direction.

The housing market in the thirty-eight-twenty-two zip code is comparatively affordable for the Atlanta region, with median home values below the state benchmark and monthly rents stable. The area has modest new construction activity in the townhome range. Unemployment and household income data suggest a stable working-age population, though state testing data was not available to assess whether trends in junior high proficiency carry forward to graduation or college readiness at the high school level. A parent considering this school may want to inquire directly about high school course breadth, college-placement outcomes, and whether the strong middle grades performance pattern continues through senior year.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=95%Cohort of 69 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

467 schools plotted. 22 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 692%

School 92% · District 16% · ▲ 76 pts above district

▲ 61 pts above state median · ▲ 79 pts above county median

Grade 796%

School 96% · District 19% · ▲ 77 pts above district

▲ 62 pts above state median · ▲ 81 pts above county median

Grade 895%

School 95% · District 26% · ▲ 69 pts above district

▲ 53 pts above state median · ▲ 71 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 697%

School 97% · District 24% · ▲ 74 pts above district

▲ 62 pts above state median · ▲ 76 pts above county median

Grade 798%

School 98% · District 24% · ▲ 74 pts above district

▲ 62 pts above state median · ▲ 77 pts above county median

Grade 898%

School 98% · District 25% · ▲ 73 pts above district

▲ 62 pts above state median · ▲ 74 pts above county median

Science

Grade 893%

School 93% · District 17% · ▲ 76 pts above district

▲ 67 pts above state median · ▲ 76 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 894%

School 94% · District 21% · ▲ 73 pts above district

▲ 63 pts above state median · ▲ 78 pts above county median

This schoolClayton 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.