1
Best kept secret at Waldo Pafford Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
741
Elementary
DISTRICT 768 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LIBERTY COUNTY·NCES 130330002406
Waldo Pafford Elementary School
2550 15th St, Hinesville, GA 31313 · (912) 877-4188 · Liberty County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL741 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 30% of Georgia public elementary schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- DThree-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
15.2:1
49 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.7:1 · STATE 13.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
83%
616 students
DISTRICT 89% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 131 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 120 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 135 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 140 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 110 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 105 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (131) is 25% larger than its 5th grade class (105).
Student demographics
59%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · 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
29.7%
GA avg 40.1% . -6.1pp since 2021
Math
26.3%
GA avg 44.6% . -3.2pp since 2021
What this means: On the Georgia Milestones, Georgia's statewide test, about 30 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 26 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Georgia schools, those numbers are about 40 and 45. Reading and writing scores are down about 6 points since 2021, while math scores are down about 3 points.
Georgia Milestones results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 29.7% | 26.3% |
| 2023-24 | 36.0% | 28.5% |
| 2022-23 | 37.2% | 32.8% |
| 2021-22 | 35.8% | 29.5% |
% 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
33.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
34.4%
based on GA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 33% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 34% 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 Waldo Pafford Elementary School
Waldo Pafford Elementary School's state test result (33.1% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waldo Pafford Elementary School this school | 741 | 83.1% | 33.1% |
| White Bluff Elementary School Savannah | 701 | 85.3% | 17.9% |
| Belair Elementary School Augusta | 675 | 82.4% | 21.7% |
| Windsor Forest Elementary School Savannah | 656 | 83.8% | 27.5% |
| Factory Shoals Elementary School Lithia Springs | 697 | 87.5% | 27.5% |
| West Chatham Elementary School Pooler | 796 | 77.0% | 29.9% |
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 Waldo Pafford Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Georgia | In Liberty County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 33.1% | #719 of 1,208 | #4 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 26.3% | #935 of 1,215 ▼ 60 | #5 of 7 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 29.7% | #726 of 1,215 ▼ 111 | #4 of 7 ▼ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -4.7pp | #152 of 1,183 | #2 of 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 741 | #313 of 1,324 | #3 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.2:1 | #1,128 of 1,301 | #4 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 59.4% | #509 of 1,301 | #6 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 83.1% | #673 of 1,312 | #6 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +22.3% | #92 of 386 | N/A |
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
741
+111 (+18%) vs 2020
-4% since 2000-01, when it was 771
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
was 15.4:1
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 | 741 | 48.9 | 15.2:1 | 83% (616) |
| 2023-24 | 835 | 45.9 | 18.2:1 | 70% (587) |
| 2022-23 | 831 | 39.9 | 20.8:1 | 70% (578) |
| 2020-21 | 630 | 41 | 15.4:1 | 59% (373) |
| 2017-18 | 606 | 42.2 | 14.4:1 | 68% (412) |
| 2015-16 | 623 | 50 | 12.5:1 | 67% (419) |
| 2010-11 | 603 | 36 | 16.8:1 | 67% (401) |
| 2000-01 | 771 | 39 | 19.8:1 | 63% (484) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Waldo Pafford Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 22% (606 to 741); teachers up 16% (42.2 to 48.9).
About Waldo Pafford Elementary School
Waldo Pafford Elementary School is an elementary school in Hinesville, Georgia, and it is part of Liberty County. Grades offered run from kindergarten through 5, with 741 students enrolled. For comparison, elementary schools in Georgia average about 605 students.
Waldo Pafford Elementary School belongs to Liberty County, a district of 12 schools and 10,925 students.
Waldo Pafford Elementary School is 60% Black by enrollment. The rest of enrollment is 16% Hispanic, 11% White, and 10% multiracial. Census estimates put the Black share of Liberty County's population at about 42%. Waldo Pafford Elementary School's diversity index is 59%, against a US figure of 70%.
The school has about 15.2 students per teacher and 48.9 full-time-equivalent teachers. The school has more students per teacher than the 13.3:1 average for elementary schools in Georgia. About 83% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch.
The allk12 Grade for Waldo Pafford Elementary School is C. Compared with Georgia public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 30% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Waldo Pafford Elementary School posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 33.1%, compared with a predicted 34.4%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Georgia schools on BeatsExpectations.
Waldo Pafford Elementary School is located in Liberty County, where the median household income is $60,456, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 13% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Waldo Pafford Elementary School is one of 12 public schools in the county.
Taylors Creek Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.8 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is 6. Waldo Pafford Elementary School ranks 3rd of 9 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 33.1% against a local average of 31.1%.
The school is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000, according to its NCES locale (City: Small).
Enrollment at Waldo Pafford Elementary School climbed 18% between 2020-21 and 2024-25, from 630 to 741 students.
Topics for discussion here include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Liberty County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
67,397
Census ACS
Median income
$60,456
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
12
10,925 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Liberty County
- Bradwell InstituteHigh · 1,900 students
- Liberty County High SchoolHigh · 1,192 students
- Button Gwinnett Elementary SchoolElementary · 1,162 students
- Snelson-Golden Middle SchoolMiddle · 876 students
- Lewis Frasier Middle SchoolMiddle · 828 students
- Taylors Creek Elementary SchoolElementary · 765 students
Other schools in Hinesville
- Bradwell InstituteHigh · 1,900 students
- Liberty County High SchoolHigh · 1,192 students
- Button Gwinnett Elementary SchoolElementary · 1,162 students
- Snelson-Golden Middle SchoolMiddle · 876 students
- Lewis Frasier Middle SchoolMiddle · 828 students
- Taylors Creek Elementary SchoolElementary · 765 students
Nearby schools
- Taylors Creek Elementary School0.8 mi · 765
- Lyman Hall Elementary School2.9 mi · 588
- Lewis Frasier Middle School3.3 mi · 828
- Frank Long Elementary School3.4 mi · 685
- Bradwell Institute3.6 mi · 1,900
- Button Gwinnett Elementary School4.1 mi · 1,162
Frequently asked questions
About Waldo Pafford Elementary SchoolHow large is Waldo Pafford Elementary School?
Waldo Pafford Elementary School enrolls approximately 741 students in grades KG-05.
Is Waldo Pafford Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Waldo Pafford Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many teachers does Waldo Pafford Elementary School have?
Waldo Pafford Elementary School employs 49 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.2:1.
What is the student diversity at Waldo Pafford Elementary School?
Student demographics at Waldo Pafford Elementary School are roughly 11% White, 16% Hispanic, 60% Black, 1% Asian, 10% Two or more.
What district is Waldo Pafford Elementary School in?
Waldo Pafford Elementary School is part of Liberty County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.