Middle Schools in Murray County

Murray County, Georgia is home to two middle schools—Gladden Middle School and Bagley Middle School—both serving grades 7-8 within the Murray County school district, which ranks in the middle of the state.

Bagley Middle School is the stronger performer overall. It currently ranks 253rd out of 578 Georgia middle schools (56th percentile), a notable improvement from its 271st place ranking two years ago. Bagley outperforms Gladden in 6th grade math (34.8% vs. 29.3%), 8th grade math (41.6% vs. 37.4%), 8th grade science (32.1% vs. 28.5%), and especially 8th grade social studies, where Bagley's 38% proficiency rate is 11.3 percentage points higher than Gladden's 26.7%. Gladden Middle School, by contrast, has declined from 249th to 304th in state rankings over the same period. Both schools report a perfect 100% proficiency rate in Algebra I, but this likely reflects a highly selective group of advanced students rather than overall math strength, since regular math proficiency at both schools trails state averages. Bagley also spends $1,568 more per student ($14,166 vs. $12,598) despite serving a nearly identical student population.

Both schools face significant challenges. Chronic absenteeism is well above the state average of 17.7%, with Gladden at 24.3% and Bagley at 21.7%. Both serve overwhelmingly high-poverty populations—100% of Gladden students and 95.84% of Bagley students qualify for free/reduced lunch. A concerning trend emerged in 8th grade science: both schools dropped dramatically from last year (Gladden fell 11.3 points to 28.5%, Bagley fell to 32.1%), while the state average rose slightly. Despite these hurdles, Bagley exceeds state averages in 8th grade science and comes close in 7th grade math, achievements worth noting given the socioeconomic context. English Language Arts scores were not included in this release and will be available in December.