The top reported proficiency rate is 18% in English language arts. The lowest is 4% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Pine Hill Middle School
Pine Hill Middle School serves sixth through eighth grades in Hephzibah, a small city on the southwestern edge of the Augusta metropolitan area. The school enrolls a modest student body drawn largely from the immediate vicinity. The student population is predominantly Black, with a significant share of white students and smaller populations of Hispanic and multiracial students. More than four in five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting economic hardship across the school community.
On Georgia's end-of-grade assessments for 2024-25, Pine Hill's proficiency results are low across all tested subjects. In English language arts, less than one in five students across all grades met proficiency, with sixth and seventh grades performing at similar modest levels and eighth grade slightly higher. In mathematics, proficiency is notably weak: fewer than one in eight students statewide proficiency in sixth and seventh grades, improving modestly to just under one in six in eighth grade. Science and social studies proficiency in eighth grade are even lower, both substantially below one in twenty students.
When proficiency rates across tested grades and subjects are averaged together, Pine Hill ranks in the bottom quartile among districts in Richmond County, the broader district of which it is a part. Only one other school in the county cluster has lower overall proficiency. Trend data for this school year alone do not permit tracking improvement or decline over time, so a parent may want to look into further what supports the school is implementing and whether recent changes have begun to show results.
Hephzibah itself is a low-density, car-oriented community built around residential neighborhoods and rural parcels near the Fall Line. Commercial life consists mainly of scattered convenience businesses rather than a walkable downtown; residents rely on nearby highways to reach Augusta for most shopping and services. The area has experienced modest new residential construction along the Highway 88 corridor, driven by proximity to Fort Eisenhower, and the city adopted a comprehensive plan in late 2024 emphasizing sustainable growth while preserving rural character.
The broader Richmond County School System is undergoing significant change. The district adopted a Long-Range Facilities Master Plan approved for implementation beginning the 2026-27 school year. The plan consolidates and closes several schools, redraws attendance zones, and will repurpose the T.W. Josey and Murphey campus into a districtwide College and Career Academy. These structural changes will affect which school children in the feeder area attend and the long-term pathway from elementary through high school. The district has also secured voter-approved sales tax funding for new construction at multiple sites without raising property taxes or adding debt. On the calendar front, the board chose to maintain a traditional school year with a standard summer break rather than shift to a modified year-round schedule.
A parent considering Pine Hill should understand that the school faces significant academic challenges reflected in its low proficiency rates, particularly in mathematics, science, and social studies. At the same time, the district is in transition, with school closures and boundary changes coming. It would be worth asking the school directly about its intervention and support strategies for struggling learners and about how the upcoming facilities and attendance-zone changes will affect families already enrolled or planning to enroll.
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