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Salem Middle School

Public Grades 6-8

556^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 584 Georgia Middle Schools

Better than 5% of Georgia middle schools

Summary

Salem Middle School is a public middle school located in Lithonia, Georgia, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 927 students. The school is part of the DeKalb County School District, which is ranked 131 out of 206 school districts in Georgia and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite its location, Salem Middle School consistently underperforms compared to the DeKalb County and Georgia state averages in Milestones Assessment test scores across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the percentage of students proficient or better in English Language Arts ranged from 11.8% to 14.5% at Salem Middle School, compared to 29.5% to 31.6% for DeKalb County and 39.8% to 41.3% for the state. The school has been ranked in the bottom half of Georgia middle schools for the past several years, with a ranking between 474 and 556 out of 542 to 584 schools, and its SchoolDigger rating has also been consistently low, ranging from 0 to 1 star out of 5.

Interestingly, when comparing Salem Middle School to nearby schools in the DeKalb County district, it consistently underperforms academically. For example, Wadsworth Magnet School for High Achievers, located about 7 miles away, has significantly higher test scores, with 92.7% to 100% of students proficient or better in various subjects, compared to Salem Middle School's 6.9% to 14.5%. Despite the relatively low spending per student at Salem Middle School, the academic performance is still significantly lower than the state and county averages, suggesting that factors beyond just funding may be contributing to the school's poor performance.

827

Students ?

12.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,629

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

5333 Salem Rd
Lithonia, GA 30038

(678) 676-9402

District: DeKalb County

Students who attend Salem Middle School usually attend:

High:

Martin Luther King- Junior High School

Feeder schools for Salem Middle School:

Elementary:	Browns Mill Elementary School
	Chapel Hill Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

91.7%

Hispanic:

5.3%

Two or more races:

1.5%

See top rated Georgia middle schools

Compare Salem Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 10th percentile in 2015 → 5th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Georgia average (11% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (5th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (31% vs 20% Georgia)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school11%

District avg28%

Georgia avg40%

556^th of 584

Georgia public middle schools ?

Bottom 5%▼ down 5 pts since 2015

From bottom 10% (2015) to bottom 5% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Georgia Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

21^st of 21Middle Schools in the DeKalb County

131^st of 206DeKalb 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
2025	9.7	556 of 584	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.7	524 of 588	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.3	528 of 577	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.6	503 of 567	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.9	474 of 542	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.3	484 of 559	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.0	495 of 543	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	14.6	481 of 539	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	12.3	492 of 545	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	11.7	483 of 537	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	12.0	483 of 521	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	9.9	494 of 527	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	15.1	461 of 508	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	16.0	461 of 504	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	17.7	443 of 494	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	28.5	396 of 466	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	26.5	388 of 462	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	25.4	383 of 445	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	30.1	350 of 420	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Georgia (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts13%-27 vs state

Science10%-18 vs state

Mathematics9%-32 vs state

Social Studies7%-32 vs state

2.0

4 ratings · 3 written reviews

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★3

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What people are saying

by a citizen
Monday, August 8, 2022

Runs like a run-down prison. Extremely poor management.No respect for Latinos. Close Quote

by a student
Tuesday, March 21, 2017

this is the best school ever Close Quote

by a parent
Thursday, December 27, 2012

This school is awful. The teachers have no control over the students. The teachers seem as they have an I don't care attitude in which rubs off on the students. The teachers don't work with the parents or return phone calls. It is the most disorganized and awful school I have ever encountered. I would not recommend you move anywhere near this district. Close Quote

Schools Near Salem Middle School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Milestones Assessment Algebra I (2025)	Milestones Assessment English Language Arts (2025)					Milestones Assessment Mathematics (2025)					Milestones Assessment Science (2025)		Milestones Assessment Social Studies (2025)	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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Milestones Assessment Algebra I End of Course	Milestones Assessment English Language Arts 4th Grade	Milestones Assessment English Language Arts 5th Grade	Milestones Assessment English Language Arts 6th Grade	Milestones Assessment English Language Arts 7th Grade	Milestones Assessment English Language Arts 8th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 6th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 7th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 8th Grade	Milestones Assessment Science 5th Grade	Milestones Assessment Science 8th Grade	Milestones Assessment Social Studies 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Salem Middle School	Public	6-8	5333 Salem Rd	Lithonia	30038	DeKalb County	DeKalb County	No	No	No	Yes	(678) 676-9402	827	65	12.7	100.0%	4 (0.5%)	758 (91.7%)	44 (5.3%)	6 (0.7%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (1.5%)	9.7	556^th of 584 public middle schools	4.8%		13.7	524^th of 588 public middle schools	10.9%	32				13.9	11.8	14.5			6.9	7.9	12.4		10.4	6.9	$20,629	$2,108	$18,522
Chapel Hill Middle School	Public	6-8	3535 Dogwood Farm Rd	Decatur	30034	DeKalb County	DeKalb County	No	No	No	Yes	(678) 676-8502	614	45	13.6	100.0%	4 (0.7%)	559 (91.0%)	26 (4.2%)	9 (1.5%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	14 (2.3%)	19	474^th of 584 public middle schools	18.8%		23	455^th of 588 public middle schools	22.6%	19				24.0	19.3	19.9			13.4	16.5	29.0		17.6	9.0	$21,186	$1,983	$19,204
Miller Grove Middle School	Public	6-8	2215 Miller Rd	Decatur	30035	DeKalb County	DeKalb County	No	No	No	Yes	(678) 676-8902	625	47	13.2	100.0%	4 (0.6%)	540 (86.4%)	53 (8.5%)	12 (1.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.2%)	11.2	547^th of 584 public middle schools	6.3%		13.5	527^th of 588 public middle schools	10.4%	20				18.5	17.7	15.4			7.2	10.0	12.2		8.9	8.2	$20,575	$2,197	$18,378
Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School	Public	6-8	5200 Covington Hwy	Decatur	30035	DeKalb County	DeKalb County	No	No	No	Yes	(678) 875-0302	655	52	12.5	100.0%	15 (2.3%)	487 (74.4%)	94 (14.4%)	36 (5.5%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (2.9%)	13.2	537^th of 584 public middle schools	8.0%		17.3	498^th of 588 public middle schools	15.3%	39				14.5	16.1	19.9			5.7	11.7	14.8		14.7	13.1	$21,424	$1,769	$19,655
Lithonia Middle School	Public	6-8	2451 Randall Ave	Lithonia	30058	DeKalb County	DeKalb County	No	No	No	Yes	(678) 875-0702	1,062	72	14.7	100.0%	15 (1.4%)	926 (87.2%)	71 (6.7%)	15 (1.4%)	6 (0.6%)	3 (0.3%)	26 (2.4%)	11.9	542^nd of 584 public middle schools	7.2%		13.7	523^rd of 588 public middle schools	11.1%	19				13.0	15.7	15.4			6.4	12.9	18.5		12.6	7.5	$17,381	$2,050	$15,330
Redan Middle School	Public	6-8	1775 Young Rd	Lithonia	30058	DeKalb County	DeKalb County	No	No	No	Yes	(678) 874-7902	623	49	12.7	100.0%	6 (1.0%)	507 (81.4%)	74 (11.9%)	16 (2.6%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (2.4%)	19.7	469^th of 584 public middle schools	19.7%		24.9	442^nd of 588 public middle schools	24.8%	27				19.6	24.8	27.3			10.8	21.1	16.1		19.5	7.1	$21,337	$1,747	$19,590
Austin Road Middle School	Public	6-8	100 Austin Rd	Stockbridge	30281	Henry County	Henry County	No	No	No	Yes	(770) 507-5407	550	36	15.4	72.5%	24 (4.4%)	411 (74.7%)	81 (14.7%)	2 (0.4%)	5 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (4.9%)	39.7	343^rd of 584 public middle schools	41.3%		32.4	395^th of 588 public middle schools	32.8%	52	89.7			35.1	32.4	33.5			21.1	30.0	36.3		21.7	37.0	$13,743	$749	$12,994
Columbia Middle School	Public	6-8	3001 Columbia Dr	Decatur	30034	DeKalb County	DeKalb County	No	No	No	Yes	(678) 875-0502	571	49	11.7	100.0%	7 (1.2%)	513 (89.8%)	28 (4.9%)	6 (1.1%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	13 (2.3%)	13.2	536^th of 584 public middle schools	8.2%		11.8	547^th of 588 public middle schools	7.0%	11				23.0	18.9	11.3			7.2	5.9	21.5		15.6	3.6	$22,381	$2,054	$20,327
Wadsworth Magnet School for High Achievers	Public, Magnet	4-8	3039 Santa Monica Dr	Decatur	30032	DeKalb County	DeKalb County	No	Yes	No	Yes	(678) 874-2402	273	16	17.0	61.2%	16 (5.9%)	223 (81.7%)	16 (5.9%)	11 (4.0%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	5 (1.8%)	99.9	1^st of 584 public middle schools	99.8%		99.9	1^st of 588 public middle schools	99.8%		100.0	100.0	91.8	95.5	96.2	92.7	96.6	91.9	97.0	100.0	100.0	96.7	87.3	100.0	$17,904	$1,600	$16,304
Cedar Grove Middle School	Public	6-8	2300 Wildcat Rd	Decatur	30034	DeKalb County	DeKalb County	No	No	No	Yes	(678) 874-4202	685	50	13.7	100.0%	4 (0.6%)	614 (89.6%)	47 (6.9%)	1 (0.1%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (2.2%)	14	526^th of 584 public middle schools	9.9%		13.9	521^st of 588 public middle schools	11.4%	5				20.1	14.1	14.8				0.0			14.6	9.8	$20,339	$1,890	$18,449

Frequently Asked Questions about Salem Middle School

What is the racial makeup of Salem Middle School?

Students at Salem Middle School are 92% African American, 5% Hispanic, 1% Two or more races.

What district is Salem Middle School in?

DeKalb County

What high school do graduates of Salem Middle School attend?

Students who attend Salem Middle School usually go on to attend Martin Luther King- Junior High School

Is Salem Middle School a good school?

Salem Middle School ranks in the bottom 4.8% of Georgia middle schools.

How many students attend Salem Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 827 students attended Salem Middle School.

Rate Salem Middle School!

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Schools in Lithonia, GA

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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.