The top reported proficiency rate is 75% in Social studies. The lowest is 28% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Norris Elementary School
Norris Elementary School serves fourth and fifth graders in Thomson, a small county seat in east-central Georgia about a short drive west of Augusta. The school is a regular public elementary with a student body of about 288 students, nearly all of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population is predominantly Black, with smaller shares of white, multiracial, and Hispanic students; Asian students are very few. The school sits on Harrison Road, on the same campus as the district's middle and high schools, in a car-dependent part of town outside downtown Thomson's historic core.
State testing results from the most recent school year show proficiency rates that sit well below state expectations across all tested subjects. In fourth-grade math and English language arts, proficiency rates were in the low-to-mid range. Fifth-grade results were similar: math proficiency was notably lower, while English language arts proficiency held steady with the fourth-grade rate. Science proficiency in fifth grade was comparable to the other subjects. These results reflect a school facing substantial academic headwinds, and a parent considering enrollment may want to look into what targeted reading and math interventions the school is implementing, particularly given the district's new focus on early literacy screening and i-Ready assessments for promotion decisions.
The district context matters here. McDuffie County Schools completed the 2025-26 school year with a significant facility shift: a new J.A. Maxwell Elementary School opened, combining former Maxwell and Thomson Elementary students in Pre-K through third grade, which means Norris now serves only grades four and five. Voters approved a one-cent sales tax in 2021 that funded that new school as well as four new classrooms at Norris itself. For five straight years, the school board has adopted rollback millage rates on property taxes, reducing the school portion of tax bills meaningfully while expanding capacity. The district is also implementing state-mandated universal reading and dyslexia screening for all K-3 students, along with i-Ready computer-adaptive tests as a promotion tool. These moves signal a district in growth mode and attentive to early literacy, though they are just beginning to work through the system.
Housing in the 30824 zip code, where the school is located, is more affordable than Georgia and national medians. The area is experiencing new residential development, with single-family subdivisions on the edges of town, and the county's population is growing as part of the broader Augusta metropolitan expansion. Thomson's downtown has a compact historic core with antique shops, restaurants, and a library, but daily life outside that core is car-dependent, and the school campuses themselves are separated from downtown civic life.
The school's academic profile and the broader capacity and tax picture paint a community in transition. Strong new facilities and a lower tax burden are assets, but proficiency data indicates the school is working with students facing significant academic gaps. The district's attention to early literacy screening and reading intervention suggests an awareness of these challenges, though results at Norris have not yet shifted measurably. For families moving to the area or considering this school for their fourth or fifth grader, the question is whether the school's current supports and the district's new tools will close those gaps.
See more original research from School Decision →