The top reported proficiency rate is 54% in Social studies. The lowest is 14% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Cox Elementary School
Cox Elementary School serves prekindergarten through fifth grade in Moultrie, a county seat and agricultural community in South Georgia. The school sits within Colquitt County Schools, a district serving a single county with ten elementary schools, a middle school, a junior high, and a high school.
The enrollment picture at Cox is small to mid-sized for its grade band, with students drawn across the grade span. All enrolled students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a community experiencing economic strain. The student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with smaller representations of white, multiracial, and Native American students. The school serves the neighborhoods of Moultrie and does not appear to have specialized admission criteria or alternative programming; it is a regular public elementary school.
Academic performance is the central fact a family would want to reckon with. State testing results for early 2025 show proficiency rates well below midpoint across all tested subjects. In mathematics, the school's performance ranges from roughly one in seven fifth-graders meeting proficiency to roughly one in four in third and fourth grade. English language arts shows similarly low proficiency, with third graders at one in eight proficient and fifth graders at one in six. Science, the strongest subject by a meaningful margin, sits at roughly one in three fifth-graders meeting the bar. These are not isolated numbers; they reflect a pattern of instruction that is producing achievement substantially below state targets. A parent considering this school should seek details directly from the school about reading intervention pathways, math support structures, and how the school identifies and serves students who fall behind early. The school's website was not accessible, so specifics about tutoring, after-school support, or curriculum approach are not available here; a parent may want to look into those directly.
The district itself is in active transition. Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, ninth graders moved from C.A. Gray Junior High into Colquitt County High School through a newly constructed wing, consolidating all high school grades under one roof. The district completed this capital work as part of a multiyear facilities plan funded by a voter-approved sales tax running through 2028. A new cellphone ban was implemented district-wide at the same time. These are structural shifts that affect the entire secondary pipeline but do not directly impact an elementary student's immediate experience.
The town itself is growing. Moultrie sits as the largest city in Colquitt County and serves as county seat, with a walkable downtown historic district and an active development pipeline. Housing for the county was valued at a modest level compared to state and national benchmarks, and recent municipal announcements signal over half a hundred housing units in various stages of planning or construction, including a planned subdivision with ground-breaking expected soon. This growth environment may bring new families and shifting school demographics over the next few years. The regional economy centers on poultry processing, healthcare tied to a growing medical school campus, and public employment, with recent announcements of new manufacturing investment expected to create jobs.
Comparison data specific to this school's standing among Colquitt County's other districts could not be computed because the county contains only one district; this school's performance can only be viewed in absolute terms against state benchmarks, where it falls notably short. A parent evaluating Cox Elementary would be making a school choice based on geography and assignment rather than selecting from multiple strong options within reach. The essential questions are whether the school has specific support structures that match a child's learning profile, whether there is evidence of progress being made in reading and math, and what the plan is for students entering the school below grade level.
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