Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Garrett Middle School

Public Grades 6-8
362nd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 578 Georgia Middle Schools
Better than 37% of Georgia middle schools
Summary

Garrett Middle School in Austell, GA, serves 891 students in grades 6 through 8 as part of the Cobb County School District, a district ranked in the top 29% of Georgia. The school has shown steady improvement over the past few years, moving from the 21st percentile statewide in 2020-2021 to the 37th percentile for 2025-2026, though it still sits in the lower-middle tier of Georgia middle schools.

The most striking strength at Garrett is its Algebra I program. An impressive 95.4% of students taking the Algebra I End-of-Course exam were proficient in 2025-2026, far exceeding the district (59.4%) and state (48.1%) averages. This is a consistent pattern, with scores of 95.8% and 75% in the prior two years. The school also earns high marks for specific student groups: African American students rank in the 68th percentile statewide, and English Language Learners rank in the 70th percentile with a 4-star rating. However, these bright spots contrast sharply with other areas. Only 22% of 8th graders were proficient in Social Studies—less than half the district average of 52.3%—and just 27% of 6th graders met grade-level math standards, compared to 48.2% district-wide. This "two-tiered" pattern suggests that while advanced students receive exceptional preparation, many students at grade level struggle.

Chronic absenteeism is a significant challenge, with 20.4% of students missing substantial school time—higher than the district (14.2%) and state (17.7%) averages. Encouragingly, this rate has dropped from 23.4% the prior year, and the school's ranking improved alongside that decline. A comparison with Cooper Middle School, just over a mile away, is revealing: Cooper ranks in the 70th percentile, has lower absenteeism (14.4%), and posts a 60.9% proficiency rate in Social Studies. Both schools serve predominantly low-income families, suggesting that Garrett's challenges are not simply a function of poverty. At $14,833 per student, Garrett spends more than nearby Lovinggood Middle School ($13,392) and Cooper ($14,423), yet overall outcomes lag. The school clearly has pockets of excellence—particularly in advanced math and for certain student groups—but the key to future gains lies in scaling that success to the broader student body and tackling attendance.

891
Students ?
15.4
Student/teacher ratio ?
$14,833
Per pupil spending ?
100%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 5235 Austell Powder Springs Rd
       Austell, GA  30106

(770) 819-2466

District: Cobb County


Students who attend Garrett Middle School usually attend:

High:    South Cobb High School

Feeder schools for Garrett Middle School:

Elementary:    Austell Elementary School
    Hendricks Elementary School
    Sanders Elementary School
Racial breakdown:

African American:
47.9%
Hispanic:
43.1%
White:
4.9%
more
 See top rated Georgia middle schools

 Compare Garrett Middle School to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 20th percentile in 2016 → 37th in 2026
Strengths
✓Ranking is trending up — up 17 percentile points since 2016
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Georgia average (30% vs 43% meeting standards)
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
!Social Studies scores 18 pts below the Georgia average
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school30%
District avg53%
Georgia avg43%
362nd of 578
Georgia public middle schools ?
Bottom 37%▲ up 17 pts since 2016
From bottom 20% (2016) to bottom 37% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Georgia Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
22nd of 26Middle Schools in the Cobb County
58th of 202Cobb 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankGeorgia percentileRating
202635.3362 of 57837.4%★★☆☆☆
202530.8403 of 58531.1%★★☆☆☆
202434.1374 of 57835.3%★★☆☆☆
202332.8389 of 56931.6%★★☆☆☆
202226.6414 of 55825.8%★☆☆☆☆
202122.0428 of 54221.0%★☆☆☆☆
201929.4404 of 55927.7%★☆☆☆☆
201824.0431 of 54320.6%★☆☆☆☆
201728.3400 of 53925.8%★☆☆☆☆
201621.9434 of 54520.4%★☆☆☆☆
201526.1399 of 53725.7%★☆☆☆☆
201427.9434 of 52116.7%★☆☆☆☆
201327.2437 of 52717.1%★☆☆☆☆
201232.5399 of 50821.5%★☆☆☆☆
201126.4423 of 50416.1%★☆☆☆☆
201038.3355 of 49428.1%★☆☆☆☆
200943.7307 of 46634.1%★★☆☆☆
200850.7249 of 46246.1%★★☆☆☆
200738.8321 of 44527.9%★☆☆☆☆
200638.0313 of 42025.5%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankGeorgia percentileRating
202658.5155 of 48067.7%★★★☆☆
202548.4219 of 49455.7%★★★☆☆
202452.1199 of 48959.3%★★★☆☆
202349.2217 of 48555.3%★★★☆☆
202241.4253 of 48247.5%★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankGeorgia percentileRating
202654.450 of 16669.9%★★★★☆
202534.1137 of 19931.2%★★☆☆☆
202448.276 of 20062.0%★★★☆☆
202339.293 of 16644.0%★★☆☆☆
202235.9104 of 15733.8%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankGeorgia percentileRating
202635.2343 of 55037.6%★★☆☆☆
202533.7375 of 56733.9%★★☆☆☆
202435.3358 of 55835.8%★★☆☆☆
202337.5336 of 55339.2%★★☆☆☆
202229.9391 of 54428.1%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankGeorgia percentileRating
202632.5255 of 37431.8%★★☆☆☆
202531.9280 of 40030.0%★★☆☆☆
202438.1232 of 38139.1%★★☆☆☆
202335.9237 of 38037.6%★★☆☆☆
202230.4272 of 36725.9%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankGeorgia percentileRating
202632.8364 of 55033.8%★★☆☆☆
202527.8411 of 56927.8%★☆☆☆☆
202432.1377 of 56132.8%★★☆☆☆
202328.0407 of 55927.2%★☆☆☆☆
202223.3430 of 55322.2%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankGeorgia percentileRating
202633.8262 of 42538.4%★★☆☆☆
202533.8288 of 44234.8%★★☆☆☆
202433.6273 of 43737.5%★★☆☆☆
202327.1341 of 42920.5%★☆☆☆☆
202227.4333 of 43122.7%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankGeorgia percentileRating
202611.0383 of 4045.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202345.9221 of 42948.5%★★☆☆☆
202212.6396 of 4256.8%☆☆☆☆☆
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)
English Language Learner (2026)70th percentile+33 vs school
African American (2026)68th percentile+30 vs school
Special Education (2026)38th percentile~ school
Female (2026)38th percentile~ school
Male (2026)34th percentile-4 vs school
Hispanic (2026)32nd percentile-6 vs school
White (2026)5th percentile-32 vs school
By subject vs Georgia (2025-2026) ?
Algebra I95%+47 vs state
HS Physical Science84%+23 vs state
Mathematics30%-13 vs state
Science28%~ state avg
Social Studies22%-18 vs state

1.0
2 ratings · 2 written reviews
5★0
4★0
3★0
2★0
1★2
Rate Garrett Middle School
Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.
Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.
Tap a star to rate
What people are saying
by a student
Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Open Quote i hate it there Close Quote


by a student
Friday, November 3, 2017

Open Quote I gave Garrett middle school a 1 star because: the principle here she likes to take the students stuff and not give it back. The 8th grade administrator is very strict. He doesn't allow us to do anything. We cant even get lockers this year. our book bags are full of books that we don't even carry. like who has money to replace a book bag every time one breaks ? And about the dress code. This is where it gets stupid. Our Garrett hoodies are RED right, OK. Now here is the thing, if we wear a red jacket, like just plain red we get a referral and then our parents be on us, yelling at us because we got a referral.All of the activities we do at Garrett, they are lame except for the ones we do in science,(shout out to you ms ducre). The teachers here don't teach us. all they do is yell at a whole class for something one student did. We get accused of skipping because we talk when we see our friends in the hallway. also the students here get referrals for no reason. and when we get referrals the teachers, or administrators don't allow us to explain everything that happened. they write down what they seen in their own eyes and that's not fair to us because half the time they be wrong. THIS CONCLUDES MY RESPONSE. Close Quote





Schools Near Garrett Middle School

Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private






Frequently Asked Questions about Garrett Middle School

Garrett Middle School ranks 362nd of 578 Georgia middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

In the 2024-25 school year, 891 students attended Garrett Middle School.

Students at Garrett Middle School are 48% African American, 43% Hispanic, 5% White, 3% Two or more races.

Students who attend Garrett Middle School usually go on to attend South Cobb High School

Rate Garrett Middle School!



Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Garrett Middle School!


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.

Diagnostics