The top reported proficiency rate is 85% in Social studies. The lowest is 29% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Upson-lee Primary School
Upson-Lee Primary School is a public primary school serving pre-kindergarten through second grade in Thomaston, a small former mill town in Upson County, Georgia. The school enrolls a substantial share of students, with nearly all students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is roughly split between white and Black students, with smaller numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds.
The school's tested academic performance, drawn from assessments administered to grades three through eight (the oldest grades tested at the school, since the school itself serves only through grade two), shows proficiency rates well below the state standard. In mathematics, the proficiency rate sits in the lower range; in English language arts, it is lower still. Science proficiency was also in the lower range. The school did show notably stronger performance in social studies on an earlier assessment. State testing data for the youngest grades, kindergarten through second, was not available because those grades are not assessed under Georgia's state testing system. Without data on the earliest grades, the school's full instructional picture in primary reading and numeracy cannot be fully characterized from state assessments alone. A parent may want to ask the school directly about reading and math instruction in the primary grades and what diagnostic and intervention tools are used to support early literacy and numeracy.
The broader context for Upson-Lee Primary is Thomaston-Upson County Schools, a small district operating two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. In early 2025, the district voted to opt out of a state homestead property tax assessment cap, meaning homeowners in Upson County will not receive that assessment limit on the school portion of their property tax bill. The district cited concern about revenue erosion and noted it maintains one of the state's lowest millage rates. This is a direct financial consideration for any family weighing a home purchase in the area. In a positive shift for school facilities, the county approved a capital referendum in March 2023 that funded athletic complex construction and facility upgrades; the final athletic project broke ground in March 2025, so families moving into the district now will see substantially refreshed school sports and learning facilities over the next several years.
Thomaston itself is a small regional hub for healthcare, retail, and education, with a historic courthouse-square downtown undergoing revitalization. The town has recovered from the loss of major employers (the Thomaston Mills and a piano plant closure in the early 2000s) and is now seeing business recruitment, downtown reinvestment, and multiple housing development projects aimed at attainable housing in the mill-village neighborhoods. Home values in the area are below both state and national benchmarks. A UGA design charrette scheduled for late January through early February 2026 will focus on attainable housing concepts in East Thomaston, signaling ongoing community development and housing investment.
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