Bethlehem Elementary School, Locust Grove GA

Original Research by School Decision on Bethlehem Elementary School

Bethlehem Elementary School serves grades pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Locust Grove, a fast-growing bedroom community about thirty-five miles southeast of Atlanta along Interstate 75. The school enrolls a small population typical for an elementary school in this grade band, with a student body that is predominantly Black, and a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

State testing results for this school show proficiency rates well below what most families would expect. In English language arts, proficiency across tested grades sits in the low range, with fourth grade particularly low. Math proficiency is similarly modest across third, fourth, and fifth grade, with fourth grade again showing notably weaker performance. Science proficiency in fifth grade, the only grade tested in that subject, is slightly higher but still falls below typical benchmarks. A parent may want to look into further with the school what interventions or supports are in place to address these lower achievement levels, and what the school's own assessment and instructional focus areas are. These results appear only in the most recent school year, so trend data was not available to show whether performance is improving, stable, or declining.

Locust Grove itself is experiencing significant residential growth. Roughly fifteen new housing communities are either planned, under construction, or recently completed, with development concentrated along the Interstate 75 corridor and in master-planned subdivisions near the commercial retail area. The housing market in the zip code sits slightly below the state benchmark, and rental costs are relatively stable. Most residents commute into the greater Atlanta area for work; the city functions primarily as a residential bedroom community with retail and logistics employment anchored by the Tanger Outlets and distribution centers. The downtown core remains genuinely walkable and hosts civic anchors like the library and city government offices, but schools and most newer residential development are situated on separate campuses away from the historic center.

Henry County Schools, the parent district, is in an expansion phase. A sales-tax referendum approved by voters in 2021 is funding three new schools including a STEM high school opening in fall 2027, expansion of six existing schools, and substantial technology and infrastructure improvements through 2028. This means ongoing construction activity and shifting capacity across the district. The district has also implemented a K-12 student cell phone ban beginning in the 2025-26 school year, and added a community service graduation requirement for students entering high school in fall 2024 and beyond. These are operational changes that affect daily and long-term family experience across all district schools.

State assessment data for comparison within Henry County was not available, so the school cannot be positioned against peer elementary schools in the county. The school itself serves only grades not assessed in social studies and science beyond fifth grade, so those gaps reflect the school's grade configuration, not missing results.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 33% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 37% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 28% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 29% · ▲ 2 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 412%

School 12% · District 30% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 34% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 33% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · even with county median

Social studies

Grades 3-885%

School 85% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

This schoolHenry 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-income8%Higher-income29%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income14%Higher-income32%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income48%19 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income17%Higher-income37%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income10%Higher-income29%19 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income15%Higher-income35%21 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income15%Higher-income24%9 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income14%Higher-income30%17 pp gap