Matthew Arthur Elementary School, Kathleen GA

Original Research by School Decision on Matthew Arthur Elementary School

Matthew Arthur Elementary serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Kathleen, an unincorporated suburban community in Houston County where single-family subdivisions and family-oriented housing have expanded rapidly since the late 1990s, driven partly by proximity to Robins Air Force Base. The school sits within a growth corridor; the district opened Langston Road Primary School in 2023 to absorb rising enrollment and is building Veterans Middle School to relieve crowding, making capacity and attendance zones a live issue for families with young children in this area.

On state assessments in the most recent school year, Matthew Arthur's proficiency rates show a mixed profile by grade and subject. In math, third-grade proficiency sits below half, while fourth grade shows strength at a substantial majority, and fifth grade returns to the middle range. In English language arts, third grade again lags at below half proficient, but fourth and fifth grades both reach roughly three-quarters proficiency or higher. Fifth-grade science proficiency is solid. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency averages in the low-to-mid range. Grade-to-grade variation suggests that student performance tightens as children move through the upper elementary years, at least in language arts, but the third-grade dip in both subjects warrants parental attention. A parent considering this school may want to ask the staff directly what instructional approaches support the jump in proficiency from third to fourth grade and whether targeted support is available for younger students.

The school enrolls a broad student body. White students make up about half the enrollment, Black students about a quarter, Hispanic students roughly one in twelve, and smaller shares of Asian and multiracial students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a working-family enrollment. Specific counts for students with individualized education plans or English learners are not available in the public record, so families needing to understand special-education or language-support capacity should ask the school directly.

Matthew Arthur is a regular public elementary school with no magnet or charter designation. The school serves about nine hundred students spread across seven grades from pre-K through fifth. Housing in Kathleen's ZIP code runs modestly below state median value, and monthly rents are stable. The broader community is car-dependent suburban sprawl with longer commutes and no fixed-route transit, oriented around newer subdivisions and family life rather than walkable neighborhoods. The property tax burden in Houston County has held at its lowest actual rate since 2012 as of 2025, a meaningful fact for household budgets. The district is investing in new facilities, including a STEM and Career Academy set to open in 2027, and continues to support dual-enrollment pathways, though those options sit at the secondary level.

Data on attendance, discipline, staffing, and program breadth beyond the standard curriculum were not available. The school's website, if one exists, was not provided. State testing results go back only one year in the available data, so trend information is sparse. Parents weighing Matthew Arthur should visit in person, observe classrooms, and speak with staff about reading support at the primary level, the specific causes of the third-to-fourth-grade jump in performance, and how the school plans to accommodate continued population growth in this fast-developing part of the county.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 47% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 483%

School 83% · District 52% · ▲ 31 pts above district

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

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 48% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 356%

School 56% · District 41% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Grade 477%

School 77% · District 47% · ▲ 30 pts above district

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

Grade 579%

School 79% · District 52% · ▲ 27 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 574%

School 74% · District 49% · ▲ 25 pts above district

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

Social studies

Grades 3-895%

School 95% · district not reported

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

This schoolHouston 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-income56%Higher-income78%22 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income68%Higher-income77%9 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income74%Higher-income89%14 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income66%Higher-income81%15 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income61%Higher-income87%26 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income71%Higher-income81%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income81%31 pp gap

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