Dawson County Junior High, Dawsonville GA

Original Research by School Decision on Dawson County Junior High

Dawson County Junior High sits in a rapidly growing county seat in North Georgia, serving grades eight and nine. The school is part of the Dawson County district, which in February 2025 chose not to opt out of Georgia's HB 581 homestead exemption, meaning property taxes on homesteaded properties will be capped at inflation-rate growth each year rather than rising with market value, a meaningful advantage for parents buying homes in the district.

The school's academic profile shows uneven performance across subjects. In eighth-grade testing, proficiency in math runs below the state middle, while English language arts and social studies proficiency are similarly modest. Science proficiency is notably low. The school has only one year of state testing data available, so no trend can be drawn. A parent may want to look into what academic supports the school offers, especially in science, and whether there are plans in place to strengthen performance.

The student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic students making up a smaller but visible share. Roughly half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating moderate family economic need. The school enrolls a moderate number of students for its grade band, split roughly evenly between grades eight and nine. Data on special education and English learner populations were not available.

Dawsonville itself is a small county seat undergoing significant growth driven by the GA-[highway] corridor expanding northward from metro Atlanta. The downtown retains a modest historic character around the courthouse square and Main Street Park, which offers walking trails, a playground, disc golf, and community gathering space. The outlet mall and highway-commercial zone south of downtown serve as major economic anchors and employers. The area is entirely car-dependent, with no fixed public transit. Housing values in the zip code are moderate for the region, and rental costs are rising modestly year-over-year. The Dawson County district approved a substantial sales tax (ESPLOST) renewal in November 2023 that will fund a new fifth elementary school, a transportation facility, expansion at this junior high, elementary gyms, and technology and safety improvements over the next several years, positioning the district to absorb growth without raising property taxes.

The junior high is sited on a separate school campus outside downtown rather than integrated into the civic core. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and serves the two grades only, meaning students will transition to a separate high school after ninth grade.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

Not publicly reportedCohort of 1 student · Class of 2021

The federal source does not publish a graduation rate for cohorts this small. The cohort size is shown for context.

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 846%

School 46% · District 46%

▲ 4 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 6 pts above state median

Science

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 27%

▲ 1 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 10 pts above state median

This schoolDawson 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-income41%Higher-income53%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income37%Higher-income68%31 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income31%Higher-income58%27 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income31%Higher-income58%27 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income45%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income23%Higher-income42%19 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income36%Higher-income58%22 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income36%Higher-income58%22 pp gap