Five Forks Middle School, Lawrenceville GA

Original Research by School Decision on Five Forks Middle School

Five Forks Middle School serves about a thousand or more sixth through eighth graders in Lawrenceville, in Gwinnett County. The school sits in a suburban residential area and is part of Gwinnett County Public Schools, one of Georgia's largest districts. Demographically, the school enrolls students across all racial and ethnic groups, with roughly half qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a mixed-income student base. A substantial share of students identify as Asian, Black, Hispanic, or White, each representing meaningful portions of the school community.

The school's academic results show strength in math and notably lower performance in English language arts at the eighth-grade level. In sixth-grade math, around two-thirds of students meet proficiency. By seventh grade, math proficiency climbs notably, with three-quarters of students proficient, and it remains solid in eighth grade. In English language arts, sixth and seventh graders land around two-thirds or just above proficient, but eighth graders drop to about half proficient. Science proficiency at eighth grade sits around half, and social studies proficiency that year is in the low-to-mid range. When all tested subjects and grades are averaged together, the school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among the six districts in Gwinnett County, a meaningful signal of where the school stands relative to its peers in the system.

The drop-off in eighth-grade English language arts is notable and worth watching. A parent may want to look into this further with the school: whether this reflects a particular curriculum transition, student composition shifts, or other factors unique to that grade level. The pattern is distinct enough that it stands out from performance across the other grades and subjects.

Five Forks sits in Lawrenceville, the county seat, a suburb about a short drive northeast of Atlanta. The town is undergoing active growth and downtown revitalization, with new residential construction, transit planning, and amenity development underway. Housing values in the 30044 zip code are modest to moderate for the metro area, and rental costs are reasonable relative to regional benchmarks. The town offers civic anchors including parks, the historic downtown, and cultural venues, though schools are located on separated suburban campuses rather than in the walkable core. The area has steady employment, with major employers including the school district, county government, a major hospital system, and regional colleges. Data on trend or historical performance was available only for this year, so multi-year improvement or decline cannot be assessed from the information at hand.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 667%

School 67% · District 47% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 779%

School 79% · District 50% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 871%

School 71% · District 58% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 666%

School 66% · District 49% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 771%

School 71% · District 49% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 47% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Science

Grade 851%

School 51% · District 0% · ▲ 51 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 50% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

This schoolGwinnett 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-income63%Higher-income81%18 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income50%Higher-income74%24 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income50%Higher-income80%30 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income54%Higher-income78%24 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income60%Higher-income77%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income57%Higher-income80%24 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income65%Higher-income90%25 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income61%Higher-income83%22 pp gap