Summary:
There are four middle schools serving grades 6-8 in Canton, Georgia, all part of the highly-rated Cherokee County school district, which ranks in the 89th percentile statewide.
For parents, the standout choice is Dean Rusk Middle School, which holds a 5-star rating and ranks 58th in the state (90th percentile). It leads the group in nearly every subject, including a perfect 100% proficiency in Algebra I and 98.4% in High School Physical Science. Creekland Middle School is a close second, ranking 64th with a 4-star rating, and boasts the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (9.3%) and the lowest free/reduced lunch percentage (21.62%). Freedom Middle School sits in the middle tier, ranking 92nd with a 4-star rating, though it has the highest chronic absenteeism rate at 14.7%. Teasley Middle School is the clear outlier, ranking 233rd (60th percentile) with a 3-star rating and lagging 20-30 percentage points behind its peers in most subjects.
A striking finding is that Teasley spends the most per student ($13,565) and has the lowest student-teacher ratio (14.1), yet posts the lowest scores—while its free/reduced lunch rate (58.58%) is nearly double that of the other schools. Despite these gaps, all four schools show steady improvement in state rankings over three years, and all exceed state averages in most subjects. Notably, every school achieves near-perfect proficiency in advanced coursework (Algebra I and Physical Science), showing that high-achieving students are well-served across the district. The widest internal gap appears in 8th grade Social Studies, where Dean Rusk posts 66.4% proficiency versus Teasley's 36.8%.
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