Ruth Hill Elementary School, Newnan GA

Original Research by School Decision on Ruth Hill Elementary School

Ruth Hill Elementary School serves pre-K through fifth grade in Newnan, Georgia, a county seat with a historic downtown and rapid suburban growth. The school's recent state testing data, from the 2024-25 school year, shows academic performance that is below proficiency benchmarks across all tested subjects. The reading-language arts data across grades three through five average in the low to mid-range, while math proficiency drops sharply in the upper elementary grades, falling significantly from third grade to fifth grade. Science proficiency at the fifth-grade level sits around the midpoint. Across the county's districts, Ruth Hill's overall proficiency index places it above the median, but the grade-by-grade breakdown reveals a concerning pattern in which math and reading skills flatten or decline as students progress through the school.

The student body reflects Newnan's demographic profile: just over half the students are Black, roughly a third are white, and a smaller share are Hispanic. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating concentrated economic need. The school enrolls a small student population across its grade levels, with roughly equal distribution from pre-K through fifth grade.

The school is located in Newnan, which sits about forty miles southwest of Atlanta and functions as an independent commercial and industrial hub for west-central Georgia. Newnan is one of the fastest-growing cities in the state, with new single-family homes and apartment communities under development. The historic downtown, anchored by the Coweta County Courthouse and centered on Court Square, contains walkable shops, galleries, restaurants, and civic institutions. Outside the downtown core, the community is auto-oriented, with retail and commercial development concentrated along corridors like Bullsboro Drive and the Newnan Crossing Bypass. A planned multi-use trail system called the LINC is intended to connect downtown, schools, and nearby institutions on both sides of Interstate 85.

Coweta County Schools, Ruth Hill's district, has made material changes to its tax structure, cutting school property tax rates five times over the past several years to reach the lowest rate in the Atlanta metro area, lowering annual tax bills for families in the district. In November 2025, voters decided on two ballot measures with long-term impact: continuation of a one-cent sales tax for school capital projects over the next five years, targeting renovations at nine schools, and expansion of senior homestead tax exemptions. The district also rebuilt Newnan High School after the March 2021 tornado destroyed the main campus; the new facility opened in 2024 and includes a reinforced below-ground tornado shelter sized for every student and staff member.

For families considering Ruth Hill, the school's low proficiency rates, especially the sharp drop in math skills from third to fifth grade, merit direct conversation with school leadership about remediation practices, instructional approaches, and what additional support is available. The concentration of economic need suggests a school population facing real barriers. The school's position above the county median for proficiency indicates it is not the lowest performer in its district, but the absolute numbers across subjects suggest students are not meeting state standards at the rate expected. A parent should ask the school about recent turnover in teaching staff, curriculum changes, or new initiatives to address the decline in upper-grade performance, and whether tutoring, small-group intervention, or summer programming is available.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 362%

School 62% · District 52% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 57% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 48% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 328%

School 28% · District 41% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 46% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 48% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Science

Grade 551%

School 51% · District 50% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Social studies

Grades 3-869%

School 69% · district not reported

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

This schoolCoweta 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 4Lower-income25%Higher-income33%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income45%Higher-income50%5 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income35%Higher-income46%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income22%Higher-income40%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income18%Higher-income50%32 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income30%Higher-income51%21 pp gap