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Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School

Public Grades 6-8

537^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 584 Georgia Middle Schools

Better than 8% of Georgia middle schools

Summary

Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School is a public middle school in Decatur, Georgia, serving 672 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the DeKalb County School District, which is ranked 131 out of 206 school districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite the school's relatively low student-teacher ratio and increased spending per student over the years, Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School consistently underperforms compared to the DeKalb County and Georgia state averages on the Milestones Assessments. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the school's proficiency rates ranged from 5.7% to 19.9% across different subject areas and grade levels, while the county and state averages were significantly higher. The school has also consistently ranked in the bottom half of Georgia middle schools and received a 0 or 1 out of 5 star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating it is one of the lower-performing schools in the state.

When comparing Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School to nearby schools in the DeKalb County district, it becomes clear that the school is underperforming compared to its peers. For instance, The Champion Middle Theme School, located about 5 miles away, consistently outperforms Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School on the Milestones Assessments, with proficiency rates that are 20-30 percentage points higher in many subject areas. Despite the school's efforts to improve, Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School has not shown significant improvement in its academic performance or state ranking over the past 10 years, suggesting that the school may be facing deeper systemic challenges that require a more comprehensive approach to address.

655

Students ?

12.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,424

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

5200 Covington Hwy
Decatur, GA 30035

(678) 875-0302

District: DeKalb County

Students who attend Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School usually attend:

High:

Towers High School

Feeder schools for Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School:

Elementary:	Canby Lane Elementary School
	Peachcrest Elementary School
	Rowland Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

74.4%

Hispanic:

14.4%

Asian:

5.5%

See top rated Georgia middle schools

Compare Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 10th percentile in 2015 → 8th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Georgia average (14% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (8th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (37% vs 20% Georgia)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school14%

District avg28%

Georgia avg40%

537^th of 584

Georgia public middle schools ?

Bottom 8%▼ down 2 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of Georgia Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

18^th 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	13.2	537 of 584	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	17.3	498 of 588	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.3	497 of 577	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.0	508 of 567	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	10.2	504 of 542	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	9.3	526 of 559	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.3	509 of 543	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	14.7	479 of 539	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	14.2	479 of 545	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	11.8	482 of 537	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	7.6	496 of 521	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	9.7	495 of 527	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	10.7	474 of 508	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	27.8	419 of 504	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	16.2	451 of 494	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	21.5	412 of 466	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	14.7	427 of 462	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	17.7	406 of 445	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	12.2	397 of 420	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Georgia (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts17%-24 vs state

Science15%-14 vs state

Social Studies13%-26 vs state

Mathematics11%-31 vs state

4.7

3 ratings · 1 written review

5★2

4★1

3★0

2★0

1★0

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What people are saying

by a student
Friday, July 21, 2017

This school is not as bad as the reviews say. The faculty and staff are trying their best to make a positive change! They really just need to rid the school of the disrespectful children who don't care about learning. There are negatives about the school, but there is also good. Please consider going here.
Sincerly,
A student Close Quote

Schools Near Mary McLeod Bethune 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
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
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
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
Freedom Middle School	Public	6-8	505 S Hairston Rd	Stone Mountain	30088	DeKalb County	DeKalb County	No	No	No	Yes	(678) 874-8702	1,272	78	16.3	100.0%	115 (9.0%)	626 (49.2%)	102 (8.0%)	407 (32.0%)	6 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	15 (1.2%)	22	455^th of 584 public middle schools	22.1%		20.3	475^th of 588 public middle schools	19.2%	20	93.3			19.7	20.0	24.9			19.1	23.3	26.7		18.3	15.8	$17,715	$1,845	$15,869
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
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
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
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
The Champion Middle Theme School	Public	6-8	5265 Mimosa Dr	Stone Mountain	30083	DeKalb County	DeKalb County	No	No	No	Yes	(678) 504-4302	782	50	15.6	87.2%	1 (0.1%)	742 (94.9%)	16 (2.0%)	6 (0.8%)	5 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (1.5%)	56	233^rd of 584 public middle schools	60.1%		56.3	234^th of 588 public middle schools	60.2%	1	75.4			37.9	46.2	50.6			30.4	40.2	47.6		23.2	35.6	$18,104	$1,846	$16,258
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

Frequently Asked Questions about Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School

How many students attend Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 655 students attended Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School.

Is Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School a good school?

Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School ranks in the bottom 8.0% of Georgia middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School attend?

Students who attend Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School usually go on to attend Towers High School

What district is Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School in?

DeKalb County

What is the racial makeup of Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School?

Students at Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School are 74% African American, 14% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 3% Two or more races, 2% White.

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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.