Pine Grove Middle School, Valdosta GA

Original Research by School Decision on Pine Grove Middle School

Pine Grove Middle School serves grades six through eight in Valdosta, a regional hub city in south Georgia. The school enrolls a balanced, moderately diverse student body drawn from the broader Lowndes County area. About three-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic composition of the surrounding community. The school's racial makeup is predominantly white and Black, with smaller shares of Hispanic, multiracial, and Asian students.

On state assessments in 2024-25, Pine Grove's academic performance sits in the lower half relative to other districts in Lowndes County. Math proficiency runs in the mid-range across the three grades, with sixth graders at about the mark and seventh and eighth graders modestly higher. English language arts proficiency is softer, hovering around half of students meeting the standard in sixth and seventh grade, with a slight uptick in eighth grade. The school administered eighth-grade assessments in science and social studies; science proficiency reached about half of students while social studies came in somewhat above that threshold. The school's overall proficiency index places it below the county midpoint. A parent considering Pine Grove may want to look into the school's specific support structures in math and ELA, as well as whether there are targeted interventions underway for lower-performing grade levels.

No other disciplinary, attendance, staffing, or program data was available to complete the picture of school environment or course offerings. The school's website, if it exists, was not provided. The state does not report special education or English learner enrollment percentages for this school, so those details remain unknown.

Valdosta itself is a mixed-use small city sitting on Interstate 75, with a historic downtown core blending civic, commercial, and residential functions alongside Valdosta State University. The city is experiencing active growth and redevelopment including new housing starts and a mix of industrial, retail, and healthcare expansion. Home prices in the area are moderate relative to national benchmarks, and rental costs have risen modestly. The broader region draws workers to Moody Air Force Base, major health care, university employment, and a range of manufacturing and distribution operations. Housing remains tight but supply is expanding.

Lowndes County Schools, Pine Grove's parent district, recently secured voter approval for an education sales tax that is funding replacement and renovation of school buildings across the system, with special focus on elementary and middle school capacity. The district has also adopted a distraction-free technology policy during instructional time in response to state law. These are shifts that will touch the daily experience of middle school students as new facilities come online and device use policies take effect in classrooms.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 654%

School 54% · District 55% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 22 pts above state median

Grade 757%

School 57% · District 56% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median

Grade 858%

School 58% · District 65% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 54% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 13 pts above state median

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 49% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 53% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median

Science

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 52% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 24 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 57% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 21 pts above state median

This schoolLowndes 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-income43%Higher-income65%22 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income48%Higher-income72%24 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income43%Higher-income67%24 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income45%Higher-income68%23 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income49%Higher-income68%18 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income57%Higher-income73%16 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income48%Higher-income69%21 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income51%Higher-income70%19 pp gap