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How has South Salem Elementary School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
855
Elementary
DISTRICT 641 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEWTON COUNTY·NCES 130393003770
South Salem Elementary School
5335 Salem Rd, Covington, GA 30016 · (770) 787-1330 · Newton County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL855 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 20% of Georgia public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- AThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Georgia public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.5:1
59 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.0:1 · STATE 13.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
855 students
DISTRICT 94% · STATE 74%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 70 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 118 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 138 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 132 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 131 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 122 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 144 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (118) is 18% smaller than its 5th grade class (144).
Student demographics
52%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 55% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
Georgia Milestones 2024-25 . % Proficient or DistinguishedEnglish Language Arts
21.1%
GA avg 40.1% . +5.7pp since 2021
Math
17.8%
GA avg 44.6% . +10.7pp since 2021
What this means: On the Georgia Milestones, Georgia's statewide test, about 21 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 18 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Georgia schools, those numbers are about 40 and 45. Reading and writing scores are up about 6 points since 2021, while math scores are up about 11 points.
Georgia Milestones results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 21.1% | 17.8% |
| 2023-24 | 20.8% | 14.7% |
| 2022-23 | 19.1% | 12.4% |
| 2021-22 | 15.4% | 7.1% |
% Proficient or Distinguished, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Georgia Milestones. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
20.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
25.7%
based on GA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 20% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 26% typical for Georgia schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Georgia's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like South Salem Elementary School
South Salem Elementary School's state test result (20.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Salem Elementary School this school | 855 | 100.0% | 20.3% |
| S.L. Mason Elementary School Valdosta | 881 | 98.0% | 22.5% |
| Waynesboro Primary School Waynesboro | 924 | 100.0% | N/A |
| Flint Hill Elementary Oxford | 848 | 100.0% | 18.3% |
| Sumter County Primary School Americus | 724 | 100.0% | N/A |
| Hicks Elementary School Conyers | 878 | 95.3% | 27.6% |
Matched among Georgia elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where South Salem Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Georgia | In Newton County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 20.3% | #1,043 of 1,208 | #8 of 14 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 17.8% | #1,112 of 1,215 ▲ 16 | #10 of 14 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 21.1% | #980 of 1,215 ▲ 56 | #7 of 14 ▲ 4 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +8.2pp | #209 of 1,183 | #4 of 14 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 855 | #174 of 1,324 | #3 of 14 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.5:1 | #980 of 1,301 | #11 of 14 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 51.6% | #750 of 1,301 | #9 of 14 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 100% | #344 of 1,312 | #9 of 14 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.4% | #729 of 854 | #7 of 10 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
855
+45 (+6%) vs 2020
+2% since 2010-11, when it was 839
Student : Teacher
14.5:1
was 14.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 855 | 58.9 | 14.5:1 | 100% (855) |
| 2023-24 | 848 | 55.1 | 15.4:1 | 97% (820) |
| 2022-23 | 852 | 58.1 | 14.7:1 | 85% (724) |
| 2020-21 | 810 | 56 | 14.5:1 | 74% (599) |
| 2017-18 | 894 | 57.8 | 15.5:1 | 81% (727) |
| 2015-16 | 876 | 58 | 15.1:1 | 82% (716) |
| 2010-11 | 839 | 53 | 15.8:1 | 71% (596) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Salem Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (894 to 855); teachers up 2% (57.8 to 58.9).
About South Salem Elementary School
South Salem Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school that serves part of Covington, Georgia. The school reports 855 students in pre-K through 5. The typical figure for elementary schools in Georgia is about 605 students.
Newton County, which runs South Salem Elementary School, has 22 schools and 18,672 students.
At South Salem Elementary School, Black students make up 67% of the student body. The school is also 13% White, 13% Hispanic, and 6% multiracial. That is higher than the 48% Black share among all Newton County residents. South Salem Elementary School's diversity index is 52%, against a US figure of 70%.
The school employs the equivalent of 58.9 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 14.5:1. That is 1.2 students per teacher above the 13.3:1 average for elementary schools in Georgia. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at South Salem Elementary School is 100%. On average, public schools in Newton County report 92%.
South Salem Elementary School is graded C- by allk12, scoring above 20% of Georgia public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, South Salem Elementary School is 5.4 points below its prediction. Actual: 20.3%. Predicted: 25.7%.
Across Newton County, the median household income is $77,179, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 25%, and about 9% of people live in poverty. In all, Newton County has 22 public schools and roughly 18,672 students.
The nearest public school is Liberty Middle School, at about 0.1 miles. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of the 9 nearby schools with scores, including this one, South Salem Elementary School is 5th on average proficiency.
NCES lists the school's locale as Suburb: Large. That means it sits in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
South Salem Elementary School's enrollment climbed from 810 in 2020-21 to 855 in 2024-25.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for South Salem Elementary School covering things like sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Newton County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
118,152
Census ACS
Median income
$77,179
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
25%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
22
18,672 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Newton County
- Newton High SchoolHigh · 2,499 students
- Alcovy High SchoolHigh · 1,968 students
- Eastside High SchoolHigh · 1,590 students
- Newton County Theme School at FicquettElementary · 1,095 students
- Live Oak ElementaryElementary · 936 students
- Liberty Middle SchoolMiddle · 894 students
Other schools in Covington
- Newton High SchoolHigh · 2,499 students
- Alcovy High SchoolHigh · 1,968 students
- Eastside High SchoolHigh · 1,590 students
- Newton County Theme School at FicquettElementary · 1,095 students
- Live Oak ElementaryElementary · 936 students
- Liberty Middle SchoolMiddle · 894 students
Other South Salem Elementary schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named South Salem Elementary. South Salem Elementary School is the largest of the 3.
- SOUTH SALEM ELEMENTARY SCHOOLPORT WASHINGTON, NY · 435 students
- South Salem ElementarySalem, VA · 371 students
Nearby schools
- Liberty Middle School0.1 mi · 894
- Livingston Elementary School1.9 mi · 357
- Live Oak Elementary2.0 mi · 936
- Veterans Memorial Middle School2.0 mi · 637
- West Newton Elementary School2.1 mi · 698
- Newton High School2.4 mi · 2,499
Frequently asked questions
About South Salem Elementary SchoolHow large is South Salem Elementary School?
South Salem Elementary School enrolls approximately 855 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does South Salem Elementary School serve?
South Salem Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at South Salem Elementary School?
Approximately 14.5:1 students per teacher at South Salem Elementary School.
How diverse is South Salem Elementary School?
South Salem Elementary School reports a student body of 13% White, 13% Hispanic, 67% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is South Salem Elementary School in?
South Salem Elementary School is part of Newton County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.