The Richmond County School System has reported improvement in several areas last month. But less than a quarter of its students achieved proficiency in math last year on state exams. For Black students, that number is less than 21%.
Tuesday, on Election Day, Richmond County voters will select five school board members to represent the district of 29,000 students. The elected board members help set district priorities and hold the superintendent accountable for continuing to close these achievement gaps.
Capital B Augusta spoke with Black voters about some of the educational issues affecting Augusta students and families. Those issues range from homework load, statewide test scores and psychological well-being to student performance and school safety. Data released by the school system shows how it is faring relative to some of those issues.
College readiness
The school system reported growth in college readiness this month. Average SAT scores rose overall or in individual subjects at five high schools, with two schools reporting their highest student scores in five years.
Five high schools saw increases in average SAT scores or subject scores. Those schools were Academy of Richmond County, T.W. Josey Comprehensive, Glenn Hills High School, Lucy C. Laney Comprehensive, and Westside Comprehensive.
The two schools that achieved their highest scores in five years were T.W. Josey Comprehensive and Glenn Hills Comprehensive.
| High school | Average total SAT score | Total-score change from 2025 | Subject-score highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy of Richmond County | 1,016 | +24 points | Not provided |
| T.W. Josey Comprehensive | 853 | +48 points | Reading and writing: 458, up 36 points |
| Glenn Hills Comprehensive | 881 | +43 points | Reading and writing: 473, up 31 points |
| Lucy C. Laney Comprehensive | 929 | Not provided | Math: 467, up 50 points |
| Westside Comprehensive | 906 | +23 points | Not provided |
Source: Richmond County School System’s “2026 SAT Highlights” graphic. “Not provided” means the graphic does not report that figure.
Participation in the SAT, Advanced Placement, and Dual Enrollment, which allows eligible 10th and 11th grade students to take college courses for credit while in high school, went up across several schools.
| School or district | Increase in students tested |
|---|---|
| Richmond County School System | +54, from 643 to 697 |
| Academy of Richmond County | +30 |
| Lucy C. Laney Comprehensive | +19 |
| Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School | +17 |
Source: Richmond County School System’s “2026 SAT Highlights” graphic. Only selected schools are shown. Their increases total 66 students; the district reports a net increase of 54 across all schools.
SAT data for the district is not publicly available by race.
Graduation rates
In September, the district reported a record high graduation rate for the third consecutive year.
Data from the Georgia Department of Education reported that 84.2% of the Class of 2026 graduated within four years. The 2.5 percentage-point increase from 2025 is attributed to a focus on identifying students’ needs and providing targeted support, as well as monitoring attendance, behavior, and each student’s progress toward graduation.
Three high schools – A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet School, John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School, and Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School – maintained a 100% graduation rate, surpassing the state average of 88.5%.
Academic mastery
Math scores on state exams improved in Richmond County last year in all but seventh grade. Seventh grade saw a 1-point decline in average math scores.
This is how Richmond County students in grades 3-8, including Black students, performed on the spring 2026 math exam, Georgia Milestones.
Richmond County Math Results, Spring 2026
Percentage of students scoring proficient or distinguished on Georgia Milestones end-of-grade mathematics assessments.
| Grade | Proficient or distinguished |
|---|---|
| 3 | 25% |
| 4 | 25% |
| 5 | 20% |
| 6 | ≈14%* |
| 7 | ≈16%* |
| 8 | 23% |
| Race/ethnicity | Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 67% | Suppressed | 50% | 37% | 40% | 39% |
| Black, non-Hispanic | ≈20%* | ≈21%* | ≈16%* | ≈11%* | ≈11%* | 19% |
| Hispanic | ≈29%* | 21% | 22% | 20% | 19% | 29% |
| Multiracial | 38% | 28% | 33% | 36% | 33% | 31% |
| Native American/Alaskan Native | Suppressed | Suppressed | Suppressed | Suppressed | Suppressed | Suppressed |
| White, non-Hispanic | 41% | 47% | 34% | 33% | 44% | 40% |
Notes: Starred figures are approximated by subtracting the beginning and developing percentages from 100%. Other figures add the displayed proficient and distinguished percentages. All calculations use rounded dashboard labels and may differ from directly reported combined rates by about one percentage point. Suppressed results are withheld because too few students were tested; they do not represent zero proficiency.
Source: Georgia Department of Education, Georgia Milestones dashboard, Richmond County, all schools, spring 2026.
English scores for Georgia Milestones are scheduled to be released in early December.
Attendance
The school system saw a decline in students missing class, from 32.9% to 30.3%. More than 8,000 students have perfect attendance.
Facilities
Additionally, the board is also working on a long-range facilities master plan, including the new Chapel Hills Elementary School combining Glenn Hills and Barton Chapel elementary schools, and the renovation of T.W. Josey High School College and Career Academy. The cost of the new Barton Chapel site and Josey’s renovation is a $90.5 million venture funded by voter approved sales taxes.
