Tift County Schools & Education
Tift County, Georgia
NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance dataSchool Score
40/100
Percentile-style score
Score Band
Lower Signal
Graduation Rate
86.0%
National avg 87.5%
Education Statistics
Graduation Rate
86.0%
National avg 87.5%
State avg 88.1%
Per-Pupil Spending
$7,478
National avg $13,239
State avg $7,405
School Score
40/100
Percentile-style score
State avg 50/100
State Score Position
#121
of 159 counties by score
Education Data Brief: Tift County
Measured School Summary
Tift County faces educational challenges with a school score of 40/100 and a graduation rate of 86.0%, falling below typical benchmarks.
Funding Context
At $7,478 per pupil, Tift County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.
Neighbor Context
Its school score is 21% below the Georgia average, and its graduation rate trails the state average by 2.1 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 1% higher than the state norm.
School Data Brief
How to read Tift County before comparing districts
County-level education data is best used as a screening layer. It summarizes the local school environment, then points you toward the district and school records that matter for local review.
Local context that changes the interpretation
11 public schools and 1 district are represented below. Use those school and district records to confirm whether the county-level context fits the neighborhoods you are actually considering.
Overall screen
40/100
Lower measured signal. Ranks #121 of 159 Georgia counties with school score data.
Completion
86.0%
2.1 pts below the state average
Funding context
$7,478
$73 above the state average
School coverage
11
1 district represented in the county school list.
Start with measured county context
The county-level signal is lower, so review individual schools and local records before interpreting the score. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.
Check the local school mix
Tift County has 11 public schools across 1 district, so school-level fit can vary inside the county.
Verify local rules
Use this page as county-level context, then confirm attendance zones, transportation, special programs, and current school boundaries with local districts.
What Tift County school data means before you move
County averages are useful for screening, but parents choose addresses, grade pathways, and district rules. This brief turns the public data into the checks that matter before you sign a lease or mortgage.
Dominant-district county
Tift County carries most of the listed public-school system, with 11 of 11 schools. Start there, then verify whether your target address sits inside that district slice.
State position
#121
of 159 Georgia counties with school score data. The county score is 10 points below the state average.
Data confidence
Usable
3 of 5 county signals are present, and 100% of listed schools report enrollment. Compare schools, then verify missing fields locally.
K-12 continuity check
These are the largest visible district slices in the county data. They show whether elementary, middle, and high school records appear together or whether a family needs to investigate transition points.
Tift County
Elementary to high school visible
7,661 students
11 listed schools in this county slice.
District reality check
Tift County is the largest listed district slice, with 11 schools. County pages do not prove address assignment, so verify boundaries with local district tools.
What the data cannot tell you
NCES records do not confirm current attendance zones, private-school options, transfer approvals, program capacity, transportation, or whether a listed school is available to a specific address.
Questions to ask before choosing an address
Which district actually serves the addresses we are considering in Tift County?
Which attendance zones, transfer rules, and transportation policies apply inside the local district?
What changes at the elementary-to-middle and middle-to-high transitions in the district pathway we would likely use?
If we need a program not visible in the NCES flags, which district office can confirm current offerings?
Are the largest listed schools the ones our address can actually attend, or are they only county-level context?
Data Story
Tift County School Score Tracks Below State and National Medians
Education data brief for Tift County, Georgia.
Tift County recorded a composite school score of 39.6, a figure that sits below both the Georgia state average of 49.6 and the national median of 50.0. The county’s public education system is managed by a single district, Tift County Schools, which serves 7,661 students across 11 facilities. The school directory shows a concentrated urban-town layout, with 10 of the 11 schools located in town settings. Tift County High School is the largest campus in the county, enrolling 2,273 students in grades 9 through 12. While the graduation rate of 86.0% is nearly aligned with the national average of 87.0%, it remains lower than the Georgia state average of 88.1%. Local spending is reported at $7,478 per pupil, slightly exceeding the state average of $7,405 but remaining significantly lower than the national average of $13,000. No charter schools operate within the district. See the NCES Common Core of Data for school-level records.
Sources
- NCES Common Core of Data
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS
School Overview
Total Schools
11
in Tift County
Reported Enrollment
7,661
11 schools reporting
School Districts
1
district
Charter Schools
0
0% of total
School Level Breakdown
1 School District in Tift County
11 Public Schools in Tift County
Sorted by reported enrollment. Dedicated profile pages are available for 2 high-enrollment schools; every NCES public school remains listed here.
NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance dataLevel
Showing 11 of 11 matching schools
| School Name | Profile | District | Location | Grades | Type / Flags | Reported Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tift County High School | Profile | Tift County | Tifton, 31794Town: Distant | 9–12 | High | 2,273 |
| Eighth Street Middle School | Profile | Tift County | Tifton, 31794Town: Distant | 6–8 | Middle | 958 |
| Annie Belle Clark Elementary School | Record | Tift County | Tifton, 31793Town: Distant | PK–5 | Primary | 804 |
| Northeast Middle School | Record | Tift County | Tifton, 31794Town: Distant | 6–8 | Middle | 703 |
| G. O. Bailey Elementary School | Record | Tift County | Tifton, 31794Town: Distant | PK–5 | Primary | 564 |
| Len Lastinger Elementary School | Record | Tift County | Tifton, 31794Town: Distant | PK–5 | Primary | 466 |
| Northside Elementary School | Record | Tift County | Tifton, 31794Town: Distant | PK–5 | Primary | 451 |
| Matt Wilson Elementary School | Record | Tift County | Tifton, 31794Town: Distant | PK–5 | Primary | 414 |
| Charles Spencer Elementary School | Record | Tift County | Tifton, 31794Town: Distant | PK–5 | Primary | 393 |
| J. T. Reddick Elementary School | Record | Tift County | Tifton, 31794Town: Distant | PK–5 | Primary | 321 |
| Omega Elementary School | Record | Tift County | Omega, 31775Rural: Distant | PK–5 | Primary | 314 |
Tift County High School
Tift County
Tifton, 31794 / Town: Distant
Eighth Street Middle School
Tift County
Tifton, 31794 / Town: Distant
Annie Belle Clark Elementary School
Tift County
Tifton, 31793 / Town: Distant
Len Lastinger Elementary School
Tift County
Tifton, 31794 / Town: Distant
Charles Spencer Elementary School
Tift County
Tifton, 31794 / Town: Distant
J. T. Reddick Elementary School
Tift County
Tifton, 31794 / Town: Distant
Education Funding Detail
Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure
$7,478
State avg $7,405
Compare Nearby Counties
Review Tift County against other counties using the same NCES-backed metrics.
Open CompareBrowse Public Schools
See school-level enrollment, grade ranges, school type, and district affiliation.
View SchoolsFrequently Asked Questions
Which Georgia counties have the highest graduation rates?
What is per-pupil spending like in Georgia?
How should I read the school score in Tift County?
What is the graduation rate in Tift County?
How much does Tift County spend per student?
Counties with Similar School Profile
Data Sources
Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.
Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.