Advertisement

GreatSchools Rating

William M. McGarrah Elementary School

Public | PK-5 | 659 students

Last modified
Community Rating

3 stars

Community Rating by Year
2013:
No new ratings
2012:
Based on 2 ratings
2011:
No new ratings
2010:
No new ratings

Teacher quality

Principal leadership

Parent involvement

Rate this school

Click on stars to rate
Please select a star rating for this school.
    Helpful reviews answer questions:
  • What do you think others should know?
  • What do you like?
  • How could your school improve?
    Review Guidelines
    GreatSchools won’t post reviews that contain:
  • Inappropriate language
  • Allegations of criminal conduct
  • Names of students, teachers or staff
1200 characters remaining
Please indicate your relationship to the school.
Please read and accept our Terms of Use to join GreatSchools.
Indicates a required field

14 reviews of this school


Sort by:
Show reviews by:
Posted November 23, 2012

i'm a student of mcgarrah elemtary.And it is a s place.Thiis school is helpful and fun


Posted August 22, 2012

My son just started here and I feel that they are doing an excellent job thus far. I look forward to being and involved parent throughout this school year and more.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted August 5, 2009

My step-son moved in with us in April of Last year and he had some issues at his other school. This school seems to care what his best interests are. They compliment him and give him praise where his other school just shot him down all the time which lowered his self-esteem. This school has been really corporating with us to get his motivation and self-esteem back up. I am very impressed.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted June 4, 2009

My daughters goes to this school. They made honor roll A and B and one of top readers in the whole kindegarden class.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted November 23, 2007

I am a teacher at McGarrah and this is a pretty good school. We have great administrators and an excellent staff. The problems that we have come from the curriculum that we are forced to teach. Teachers are not allowed to be as creative as we were in the past and we have to follow scripts to get the kids to 'learn.' They are just learning to spit back answers on cue. We have a good overall school environment and good people, just give us a chance to prove it to you.
—Submitted by a teacher


Posted October 4, 2007

My daughter, and I think Mcgarrah is a great school! By far the best in Clayton County.The leadership, and staff have been great. Mrs. Burroughs, Mrs.Griffin,Mr.Iddins,Ms.Yarbrough,Ms.Penczek,and Mrs.Lamb have all been wonderful to myself, and my child. Mcgarrah is a great school!
—Submitted by Rayna, a parent


Posted October 3, 2007

I have three children attending and I believe the teachers are hard working and care very much. There is very little parent involvement it is the same ones every year putting in time and money. Sadly many students do not measure up on standardized tests and this takes a lot of time to bring them to speed. Parents do not take responsibility for their children's behavior problems. McGarrah is by far the best in the county, the county as a whole is a problem. There are too many fund raisers for other causes besides the kids. Mrs. Burroughs is fair, many teachers go above and beyond.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted January 31, 2006

I am a very proud parent of 2 students at McGarrah Elementary. I have great confidence in the staff. As far as these comments are concerned....You can't please everyone. It's usally the parents who are not involved that think everything the school does is wrong! Stay involved!
—Submitted by a parent


Posted August 4, 2005

This school is the worst. Nice principle, but she defends the teachers when you try to show her there is a big problem.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted April 27, 2005

I feel that the parents aren't as involved as they should be. The P.T.A. nights an open conferences are a joke because hardly any parents show up. I am a teacher there and I'm offended by these comments. I would follow the principal to any school. The school is trying to turn around some previous bad situations and's aiming for higher academic standards. However, this is hard when the students and parents don't care and don't want to listen to what the teachers and administration have to suggest for their children. I truly feel sorry for the small percentage of students who's parents care. These good students get over shadowed by those who consistently get in trouble in school.
—Submitted by a teacher


Posted May 21, 2004

It is hard to communicate with the front office staff, they give the impression that they don't care about the kids, they're there for a paycheck. (including the principal)
—Submitted by a parent


Posted May 18, 2004

My child has had the same experiences previously described by the other parent. I am sorry that I have exposed my child to this for the last 5 years and I am truly happy that we will be leaving this school behind as my child transitions into middle school.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted May 7, 2004

This school is the worst I have ever encountered.The school makes it very difficult to be involved. They do not communicate with the parents about what is going on in class and about their children. I would reccommend that parents run far away from this school.
—Submitted by TIFFANY SMITH, a parent


Posted April 9, 2004

This school has a lot of favorites. Kids are taught to pass state test not an education. Kids are not treated fair. Theres alot of bulling. And every week school comes up with something else for kids to raise money for them.
—Submitted by a parent


Community ratings and reviews do not represent the views of GreatSchools nor does GreatSchools check their accuracy or verify the reviewers' identities. Use your discretion when evaluating these reviews.

About these ratings

The Community Rating is the school’s average rating from its community members (e.g., parents, students, and school staff). The highest possible rating is five stars; the lowest is one star.

The test results by subgroup show how the designated group of students is performing in comparison to the general population.
English Language Arts

The state average for English Language Arts was 86% in 2010.

100 students were tested at this school in 2010.

2010

 
 
74%

2009

 
 
75%
Math

The state average for Math was 85% in 2010.

100 students were tested at this school in 2010.

2010

 
 
72%

2009

 
 
81%
Reading

The state average for Reading was 92% in 2010.

100 students were tested at this school in 2010.

2010

 
 
83%

2009

 
 
86%
Scale: % meeting or exceeding standards

About the tests


In 2011-2012 Georgia administered the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) in reading, social studies, science, English language arts and math in grades 3 through 8. The CRCT is a standards-based assessment, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Georgia. The goal is for all students to score at or above the state standard.

See Georgia's state standards

Source: Georgia Department of Education

English Language Arts

The state average for English Language Arts was 85% in 2010.

85 students were tested at this school in 2010.

2010

 
 
84%

2009

 
 
85%
Math

The state average for Math was 87% in 2010.

85 students were tested at this school in 2010.

2010

 
 
82%

2009

 
 
82%
Reading

The state average for Reading was 91% in 2010.

85 students were tested at this school in 2010.

2010

 
 
91%

2009

 
 
92%
Scale: % meeting or exceeding standards

About the tests


In 2011-2012 Georgia administered the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) in reading, social studies, science, English language arts and math in grades 3 through 8. The CRCT is a standards-based assessment, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Georgia. The goal is for all students to score at or above the state standard.

See Georgia's state standards

Source: Georgia Department of Education

English Language Arts

The state average for English Language Arts was 91% in 2012.

106 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
77%

2011

 
 
91%

2010

 
 
90%

2009

 
 
81%
Math

The state average for Math was 81% in 2012.

106 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
66%

2011

 
 
74%

2010

 
 
83%

2009

 
 
70%
Reading

The state average for Reading was 91% in 2012.

105 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
81%

2011

 
 
90%

2010

 
 
85%

2009

 
 
80%
Science

The state average for Science was 78% in 2012.

106 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
62%

2011

 
 
73%

2010

 
 
80%

2009

 
 
63%
Social Studies

The state average for Social Studies was 81% in 2012.

106 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
63%

2011

 
 
76%

2010

 
 
67%

2009

 
 
57%
Scale: % meeting or exceeding standards

About the tests


In 2011-2012 Georgia administered the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) in reading, social studies, science, English language arts and math in grades 3 through 8. The CRCT is a standards-based assessment, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Georgia. The goal is for all students to score at or above the state standard.

See Georgia's state standards

Source: Georgia Department of Education

English Language Arts

The state average for English Language Arts was 91% in 2012.

92 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
85%

2011

 
 
92%

2010

 
 
76%

2009

 
 
81%
Math

The state average for Math was 80% in 2012.

92 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
75%

2011

 
 
79%

2010

 
 
66%

2009

 
 
69%
Reading

The state average for Reading was 90% in 2012.

91 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
80%

2011

 
 
79%

2010

 
 
83%

2009

 
 
84%
Science

The state average for Science was 81% in 2012.

92 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
72%

2011

 
 
68%

2010

 
 
59%

2009

 
 
62%
Social Studies

The state average for Social Studies was 78% in 2012.

92 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
67%

2011

 
 
57%

2010

 
 
51%

2009

 
 
45%
Scale: % meeting or exceeding standards

About the tests


In 2011-2012 Georgia administered the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) in reading, social studies, science, English language arts and math in grades 3 through 8. The CRCT is a standards-based assessment, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Georgia. The goal is for all students to score at or above the state standard.

See Georgia's state standards

Source: Georgia Department of Education

English Language Arts

The state average for English Language Arts was 94% in 2012.

87 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
85%

2011

 
 
90%

2010

 
 
99%

2009

 
 
90%
Math

The state average for Math was 84% in 2012.

87 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
82%

2011

 
 
90%

2010

 
 
89%

2009

 
 
79%
Reading

The state average for Reading was 91% in 2012.

86 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
85%

2011

 
 
81%

2010

 
 
94%

2009

 
 
76%
Science

The state average for Science was 78% in 2012.

87 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
76%

2011

 
 
63%

2010

 
 
75%

2009

 
 
64%
Social Studies

The state average for Social Studies was 77% in 2012.

87 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
75%

2011

 
 
67%

2010

 
 
71%

2009

 
 
52%
Scale: % meeting or exceeding standards

About the tests


In 2011-2012 Georgia administered the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) in reading, social studies, science, English language arts and math in grades 3 through 8. The CRCT is a standards-based assessment, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Georgia. The goal is for all students to score at or above the state standard.

See Georgia's state standards

Source: Georgia Department of Education

Writing

The state average for Writing was 80% in 2012.

88 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
89%

2011

 
 
84%

2010

 
 
81%

2009

 
 
78%
Scale: % meeting or exceeding standards

About the tests


In 2011-2012 Georgia administered the Middle Grades Writing Assessment (MGWA) to students in grades 5 and 8. The MGWA is a standards-based assessment, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined by the state of Georgia. The goal is for all students to score at or above the state standard.

See Georgia's state standards

Source: Georgia Department of Education

Breaking down the GreatSchools Rating

GreatSchools Ratings are based on the most recent standardized test results for schools. Use the breakdown ratings below to compare types of students at this school. Learn more »


Student ethnicity

Ethnicity This school State average
Black 62% 38%
Hispanic 19% 10%
Asian/Pacific Islander 13% 3%
White 6% 46%
American Indian/Alaska Native N/A 0%
Source: NCES, 2008-2009

Student subgroups

  This school District averageState average
Limited English proficient 12%N/A5%
Economically disadvantaged 78%N/A50%
Students with disabilities 11%N/A12%
Source: GA Dept. of Education, 2006-2007

Student-teacher ratio

  This school District averageState average
Students per FTE teacher 13N/A14
Source: NCES, 2008-2009
Notice an inaccuracy? Let us know!

2201 Lake Harbin Rd
Morrow, GA 30260
Phone: (770) 968-2910

ADVERTISEMENT

Compare this school
to nearby schools

Compare schools »

Compare

Add this school to compare
ADVERTISEMENT