Griffin Middle School

Griffin Middle School is a public magnet middle school located in Tallahassee, Florida, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 486 students. The school is part of the Leon District, which is ranked 47 out of 67 districts in Florida and is rated 2 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger. Over the past several years, Griffin Middle School has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of Florida middle schools, with a ranking between 1000-1100 out of around 1200 schools.

Griffin Middle School faces significant challenges, including very high chronic absenteeism rates ranging from 30.9% to 61.3% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the district and state averages. The school's test scores are also consistently lower than the district and state averages across all subject areas and grade levels. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 15% of 8th graders were proficient or better in Statewide Science, compared to 41% in the district and 49% statewide. Additionally, Griffin Middle School has a very high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 71.96% to 76.69% over the past few years, indicating a higher concentration of economically disadvantaged students.

Interestingly, the nearby middle schools, such as Deerlake, William J. Montford III, and Swift Creek, consistently outperform Griffin Middle School on key metrics like test scores, chronic absenteeism, and free/reduced lunch rates. These schools also have higher statewide rankings, indicating they are serving their students more effectively. While Griffin Middle School has a relatively high spending per student, ranging from $9,551 to $12,211 over the past few years, this higher spending does not appear to be translating into improved student outcomes, suggesting that resources alone may not be the primary driver of student success at the school.