Hickory Hills Elementary School vs A.L. Burruss Elementary School

A.L. Burruss Elementary School holds a narrow but meaningful edge over Hickory Hills Elementary School in overall rating — 9.5 versus 9.2 out of 10, a 0.3-point gap. More telling is the state rank context: A.L. Burruss Elementary School ranks #10 of 2,268 Georgia elementary schools, placing it in the top 0.5% statewide, while Hickory Hills Elementary School ranks #32 of 2,268 — itself an exceptional result, sitting in the top 1.5%. Both schools are separated by just 0.8 miles in Marietta, yet that gap in rank represents 22 positions among more than two thousand schools.

On academics, A.L. Burruss Elementary School scores 8.7 out of 10 versus Hickory Hills Elementary School's 8.4 — a 0.3-point delta on a metric that aggregates state proficiency data. Growth scores follow the same pattern: A.L. Burruss Elementary School earns a 9.9 out of 10, compared to Hickory Hills Elementary School's 9.6. The growth score is especially significant because it measures how much students improve year over year regardless of where they start — a near-perfect 9.9 signals that A.L. Burruss Elementary School is consistently pushing students forward at an exceptional rate.

The two schools differ more sharply on demographics than on academics. Hickory Hills Elementary School enrolls 396 students — eight more than A.L. Burruss Elementary School's 388 — but serves a higher share of economically disadvantaged students: 66% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch at Hickory Hills Elementary School, compared to 55% at A.L. Burruss Elementary School, an 11-percentage-point gap. Hickory Hills also offers a lower student-teacher ratio, 9.4 students per teacher versus 10.2 at A.L. Burruss Elementary School — meaning Hickory Hills classrooms average roughly one fewer student per teacher, which can translate to more individualized attention despite the higher FRL share.

Both schools serve students in grades PK through 5, so there is no structural difference in the grade span available to families. The choice comes down to marginal academic performance differences versus classroom size and demographic context — not a fundamental program distinction.