Clarkesville Elementary School, Clarkesville GA

Original Research by School Decision on Clarkesville Elementary School

Clarkesville Elementary serves prekindergarten through fifth grade in a small county-seat town in the Blue Ridge foothills, drawing from a rural and growing residential area. The school enrolls a moderate-sized cohort for its grade band, with a student body that is predominantly white, a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, and a handful of Hispanic and other students of color represented in smaller numbers.

State testing data from the most recent school year show proficiency levels that sit below the midpoint. In English language arts across grades three through five, proficiency rates cluster in the low-to-mid range. Mathematics proficiency is similarly modest, with third-grade students showing below-half proficiency and fifth-grade proficiency dropping further. Science proficiency in fifth grade is also below the midpoint. These are soft spots that a parent may want to discuss directly with the school: what interventions are in place, what the school's trajectory looks like, and how support is tailored for students who are not yet proficient.

A note on older social-studies data: the school reported strong performance on that subject in an earlier state assessment, but that test is no longer administered in Georgia, so current proficiency in social studies is not available.

Clarkesville Elementary sits within Habersham County Schools, a district that has positioned itself around stable, low-tax funding. The district holds one of the lowest property millage rates in Northeast Georgia and has continued to roll it back in recent fiscal years, easing the property-tax burden on families. The district passed a renewed education sales tax (ESPLOST VII) in May 2026, projected to fund facility upgrades, technology, buses, and new playgrounds at all eight elementary schools through 2033 or beyond, so capital investment in the elementary schools is on the horizon. This combination of low millage rates and sales-tax-backed spending is meaningful for families weighing relocation or school choice.

The town of Clarkesville itself is in active growth, with new subdivisions and housing projects under way, particularly along Rocky Branch Road near Highway 17, bringing homes in a mid-range price bracket. The historic downtown along Washington Street contains shops, galleries, restaurants, and the county library, anchoring a small but walkable civic center. Outside downtown, Clarkesville is car-dependent, with shopping and services spread along state highways. The area's larger employers—including agricultural processing, manufacturing, healthcare, and a technical college—anchor the local economy. For families considering the school, the growth trajectory and housing development mean the student body may shift over the next few years.

State testing trend data span only the current school year, so longer-term improvement or decline cannot be assessed from the available information. A parent may want to ask the school about its academic priorities, what assessment data from prior years showed, and what specific supports exist for students below proficiency.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 349%

School 49% · District 46% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median

Grade 456%

School 56% · District 51% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 537%

School 37% · District 44% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 36% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 39% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 43% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median

Science

Grade 537%

School 37% · District 43% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median

Social studies

Grades 3-892%

School 92% · district not reported

▲ 9 pts above state median

This schoolHabersham 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 3Lower-income42%Higher-income60%18 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income36%Higher-income63%26 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income36%Higher-income69%33 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income38%Higher-income63%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income44%Higher-income75%31 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income43%Higher-income54%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income36%Higher-income81%45 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income41%Higher-income68%27 pp gap