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Test scores delayed: 2026 rankings for Georgia do not yet include English Language Arts scores, which will not be released by the Georgia Department of Education until winter 2026.

Burke County Middle School

Public Grades 6-8

459^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 578 Georgia Middle Schools

Better than 21% of Georgia middle schools

Summary

Burke County Middle School in Waynesboro, GA, serves approximately 828 students in grades 6–8 as part of the Burke County district, and it has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of Georgia middle schools over the past decade.

The most striking finding is the school’s exceptional performance in advanced coursework. In 2025–2026, 70.4% of students taking Algebra I scored proficient or better—far above the state average of 48.1% and the district average of 23.6%. The previous year, that figure was an extraordinary 95%. Similarly, students taking High School Physical Science posted a 71.5% proficiency rate, beating the state average of 60.9%. These results suggest a highly effective accelerated pathway for a subset of students. However, the picture is very different for grade-level courses: 8th-grade math proficiency was just 25.7% (state: 46.3%), 8th-grade science was 9.4% (state: 29.7%), and 8th-grade social studies was 14.1% (state: 40.2%). This "two schools" phenomenon—strong advanced tracks but weak standard classes—is the school’s defining characteristic.

Compared to nearby schools, the results are mixed. Jenkins County Middle School outperforms Burke in most standard subjects (e.g., 37.8% vs. 19.6% in 6th-grade math), but Burke’s Algebra I results dwarf those of Pine Hill Middle School (70.4% vs. 25%) and Hephzibah Middle School (18.9%). Burke also spends significantly more per student ($19,588) than these peers and has a favorable 11.7:1 student-teacher ratio. The biggest concern is a sharp spike in chronic absenteeism, jumping from 18.7% to 26.5% in one year—now well above the state average of 17.7%. With nearly 99% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, the school faces real challenges, but its advanced-course success shows what’s possible when resources are focused effectively.

828

Students ?

11.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$19,588

Per pupil spending ?

98.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

356 Southside Dr
Waynesboro, GA 30830

(706) 554-3532

District: Burke County

Students who attend Burke County Middle School usually attend:

High:

Burke County High School

Feeder schools for Burke County Middle School:

Elementary:	Blakeney Elementary
	S G A Elementary School
	Waynesboro Primary School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

59.3%

White:

28.7%

Hispanic:

6.6%

See top rated Georgia middle schools

Compare Burke County Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 26th percentile in 2016 → 21st in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 12 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Georgia average (23% vs 43% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (21st percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (26% vs 18% Georgia)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school23%

District avg21%

Georgia avg43%

459^th of 578

Georgia public middle schools ?

Bottom 21%▼ down 5 pts since 2016

From bottom 26% (2016) to bottom 21% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Georgia Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

148^th of 202Burke County among Georgia districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	20.8	459 of 578	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	23.4	447 of 585	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.6	441 of 578	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.6	466 of 569	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.8	451 of 558	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	26.2	409 of 542	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.8	433 of 559	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.4	447 of 543	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	25.9	413 of 539	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	27.6	405 of 545	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	34.1	360 of 537	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2014	56.5	268 of 521	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2013	59.0	240 of 527	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2012	50.1	293 of 508	42.3%	★★☆☆☆
2011	42.5	335 of 504	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2010	38.7	352 of 494	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	33.5	364 of 466	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	35.3	352 of 462	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	42.1	306 of 445	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2006	46.5	262 of 420	37.6%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	22.8	388 of 480	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	23.4	403 of 494	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.8	354 of 489	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.3	391 of 485	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.7	394 of 482	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	22.2	431 of 550	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	24.8	432 of 567	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.4	435 of 558	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.9	475 of 553	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.7	441 of 544	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	25.0	297 of 374	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	56.1	142 of 400	64.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	32.7	262 of 381	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.6	263 of 380	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	27.6	291 of 367	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	18.5	455 of 550	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	22.5	442 of 569	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.7	428 of 561	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.9	444 of 559	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.1	446 of 553	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2023	17.3	139 of 157	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.5	154 of 159	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2025	16.4	153 of 169	9.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.7	161 of 172	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.6	162 of 163	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	22.1	356 of 425	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	27.1	337 of 442	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.5	347 of 437	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	33.9	272 of 429	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	24.2	367 of 431	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	19.1	347 of 404	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	21.6	350 of 415	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.7	362 of 417	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.9	394 of 429	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	19.0	367 of 425	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Female (2026)22nd percentile~ school

Hispanic (2026)21st percentile~ school

African American (2026)19th percentile~ school

Male (2026)17th percentile-3 vs school

Special Education (2026)16th percentile-4 vs school

White (2026)14th percentile-6 vs school

Migrant (2023)11th percentile-7 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)9th percentile-14 vs school

By subject vs Georgia (2025-2026) ?

HS Physical Science72%+11 vs state

Algebra I70%+22 vs state

Mathematics24%-19 vs state

Social Studies14%-26 vs state

Science9%-20 vs state

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What people are saying

by a parent on FaceBook
Sunday, July 31, 2011

The reason they are failing school starts back at elementary school ,they put most of the teacher and administrator kids in same homeroom from k5 on ,with know regard to test scores Close Quote

Schools Near Burke County Middle School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				Milestones Assessment Algebra I (2026)	Milestones Assessment Mathematics (2026)			Milestones Assessment Science (2026)	Milestones Assessment Social Studies (2026)	Milestones Assessment HS Physical Science (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Milestones Assessment Algebra I End of Course	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 6th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 7th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 8th Grade	Milestones Assessment Science 8th Grade	Milestones Assessment Social Studies 8th Grade	Milestones Assessment HS Physical Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Burke County Middle School	Public	6-8	356 Southside Dr	Waynesboro	30830	Burke County	Burke County	No	No	No	Yes	(706) 554-3532	828	70	11.7	98.8%	238 (28.7%)	491 (59.3%)	55 (6.6%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (5.0%)	20.8	459^th of 578 public middle schools	20.6%		23.4	447^th of 585 public middle schools	23.6%	12	70.4	19.6	26.3	25.7	9.4	14.1	71.5	$19,588	$2,624	$16,963
Hephzibah Middle School	Public	6-8	2427 Mims Rd	Hephzibah	30815	Richmond County	Richmond County	No	No	No	Yes	(706) 592-4534	728	42	17.4	100.0%	97 (13.3%)	556 (76.4%)	41 (5.6%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	4 (0.5%)	26 (3.6%)	7.2	562^nd of 578 public middle schools	2.8%		9.7	556^th of 585 public middle schools	5.0%	6	18.9	9.7	5.5	8.3	4.9	6.2	16.7	$12,820	$1,367	$11,453
Pine Hill Middle School	Public	6-8	2147 McElmurray Rd	Hephzibah	30815	Richmond County	Richmond County	No	No	No	Yes	(706) 592-3730	757	48	15.6	100.0%	160 (21.1%)	502 (66.3%)	45 (5.9%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (6.1%)	7.9	557^th of 578 public middle schools	3.6%		11.3	547^th of 585 public middle schools	6.5%	10	25.0	6.8	5.6	16.4	2.4	8.6	10.7	$13,017	$1,645	$11,373
Jenkins County Middle School	Public	6-8	433 Barney Ave	Millen	30442	Jenkins County	Jenkins County	No	No	No	Yes	(478) 982-1063	260	18	14.6	100.0%	104 (40.0%)	119 (45.8%)	25 (9.6%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.2%)	52.9	250^th of 578 public middle schools	56.7%		46.4	289^th of 585 public middle schools	50.6%	39		37.8	28.0	35.1	41.9	45.9		$13,551	$1,224	$12,327

Frequently Asked Questions about Burke County Middle School

What high school do graduates of Burke County Middle School attend?

Students who attend Burke County Middle School usually go on to attend Burke County High School

What is the racial makeup of Burke County Middle School?

Students at Burke County Middle School are 59% African American, 29% White, 7% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races.

Is Burke County Middle School a good school?

Burke County Middle School ranks in the bottom 20.6% of Georgia middle schools.

What district is Burke County Middle School in?

Burke County

How many students attend Burke County Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 828 students attended Burke County Middle School.

Rate Burke County Middle School!

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Latest Georgia data All new data »

2025–26 attendance dataAug 6, 2026

2025–26 Milestones Assessment scoresAug 6, 2026

2021–22 through 2024–25 Milestones Assessment scores (updated)Aug 6, 2026

2024–25 dropout ratesFeb 19, 2026

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Georgia Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.