Blackmon Road Middle School, Columbus GA

Original Research by School Decision on Blackmon Road Middle School

Blackmon Road Middle School sits in Columbus, a mid-sized city along the Chattahoochee River that combines a historic downtown core with dispersed neighborhoods and employment hubs like Fort Moore and Aflac. The school draws students from across this consolidated city-county landscape and serves a student body that is racially and economically mixed, though with a substantial share qualifying for free or reduced lunch.

The 2024-25 state assessment results show proficiency rates that sit below the midpoint across tested grades and subjects. In sixth-grade math and ELA, proficiency is in the low range, rising modestly in seventh grade before climbing to the mid-range in eighth-grade math. Eighth-grade ELA holds steady at roughly the same level as seventh grade. Science and social studies, tested only in eighth grade, show proficiency in the low to lower-mid range. The pattern across grades suggests that while students gain ground in some areas as they progress through middle school, proficiency overall remains constrained. This is a school where a majority of students are not yet meeting state standards. A parent evaluating the school may want to look into the specific supports the school offers to students working below grade level and how the school identifies and addresses skill gaps, particularly in the core subjects of math and ELA.

The school enrolls about mid-size for a middle school across three grades, with balanced enrollments per grade. The student population includes a substantial share of Black and White students, along with meaningful Asian and Hispanic communities. Economic need is high, with a majority of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Special-population data for students with IEPs and English learners was not available in the data provided.

Columbus itself is experiencing slow population growth with some outmigration to larger metros, though infrastructure investment and business expansion, including a Pratt & Whitney facility expansion and new housing development, are anchoring the region. The Chattahoochee RiverWalk, Uptown's cultural and dining scene, and proximity to Fort Moore shape life in the city. Housing values in the school's zip code are moderate for the region, and the rental market is tighter than homeownership.

The district serving Blackmon Road recently extended a sales tax through 2024 to fund facility improvements and safety retrofits across schools, a multi-year commitment parents should factor into their sense of institutional continuity. The district has also raised property taxes above rollback rates in multiple recent years, an ongoing cost factor for families already living in or considering the area.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 634%

School 34% · District 19% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Grade 736%

School 36% · District 22% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 30% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 31% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 745%

School 45% · District 30% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 30% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 18% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 25% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

This schoolMuscogee 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-income28%Higher-income57%28 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income24%Higher-income59%36 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income51%Higher-income70%20 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income34%Higher-income63%29 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income48%24 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income16%Higher-income46%30 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income42%Higher-income70%28 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income28%Higher-income56%28 pp gap