The top reported proficiency rate is 32% in Math. The lowest is 22% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Barack H. Obama Elementary Magnet School of Technology
Barack H. Obama Elementary Magnet School of Technology is a public elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Atlanta's DeKalb County system. It enrolls a small population, drawn entirely from students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, making it a school serving a community with substantial economic need. The student body is predominantly Black, with small populations of Hispanic, multiracial, and white students, and a very small Asian enrollment.
The school's academic results on Georgia's End-of-Grade assessments are weak across all tested subjects and grade levels. In mathematics, proficiency rates range from the low to mid-thirties in third and fourth grade, dropping to below thirty percent in fifth grade. English language arts proficiency is similarly low, in the mid-twenties to mid-thirties across tested grades. Science proficiency in fifth grade is notably the lowest area, at around twenty percent. When proficiency is averaged across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall index sits above the midpoint relative to other districts in DeKalb County, though that comparative position reflects the broader academic challenges across many DeKalb schools rather than strong absolute performance. The school has only one year of recent data, so trend information is not available.
The school's magnet designation as a technology-focused school does not appear to be reflected in publicly available program details, and no information is available on how the technology focus is integrated into curriculum or instruction. Staffing, special education identification rates, English learner enrollment, chronic absenteeism, or discipline data were not available in the public record.
DeKalb County itself is undergoing significant structural change. A multi-year Student Assignment Project launched in 2024 could close or consolidate multiple schools over the coming years to address substantial unused capacity. An initial scenario flagged numerous schools for possible closure, though the final recommendation to the board was not expected until late 2026. Any family considering this school should understand that attendance boundaries and school assignments across DeKalb clusters—including the cluster containing this school—remain in flux. Additionally, DeKalb's property tax millage rate has been cut three consecutive years, but actual school property taxes continue to climb because home values are rising faster than the rate reductions. A referendum passed overwhelmingly in 2021 authorized a one-cent sales tax through mid-2027 to fund major capital projects including new and rebuilt schools and conversion of existing high schools into specialized academies.
The school's location is in Atlanta, a large diverse city with a strong job market and ongoing intown development, particularly along the Atlanta BeltLine corridor. The 30316 zip code in which the school sits has median home values slightly above the state average, with monthly rental rates around two thousand dollars, making housing in the immediate area moderately priced for the region. A parent considering this school should weigh its very low proficiency results against its potential technology focus, the ongoing uncertainty from DeKalb's school consolidation process, and whether the school's program strengths (not detailed in available public records) align with their child's needs.
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