Middle Schools in Hancock County

Hancock County has one middle school, Hancock County Middle School, serving grades 6–8 and enrolling 308 students; in 2025–2026, chronic absenteeism was 20%, close to the Hancock County district’s 20.1% and below Kentucky’s 23.5%, while the dropout rate was 0% versus 0.3% districtwide and 1% statewide. The most important finding is that the school moved from below to above the state average across the nine comparable grade-and-subject results: its average school-to-state gap improved by 8 percentage points, from 5 points below in 2024–2025 to 3 points above in 2025–2026.

Hancock County Middle School stands out in this single-school area, scoring above Kentucky in 7 of 9 reportable results in 2025–2026. Mathematics was consistently above the state in all three grades, by 4 to 8 points; the school’s three-grade average was 46% compared with 40% statewide. Grade 8 writing was the strongest result, at 60% versus 48% statewide, a 12-point advantage. Grade 8 editing and mechanics was the clearest weakness, at 34% versus 42%, an 8-point shortfall; grade 8 reading was also 2 points below the state. Because the list contains only one school, there is no meaningful local school-to-school ranking.

Results improved overall, but not in every subject or grade: across the same nine measures, the school’s average rose from 40% in 2024–2025 to 47% in 2025–2026, while the state average shifted from 45% to 44%. Grade 8 writing increased 16 points and social studies rose 10 points, while editing and mechanics fell 10 points; grade 7 mathematics also declined 5 points. SchoolDigger rates the district 3 stars and ranks it 53rd of 158 districts. Its school ranking improved from 199th of 320 schools (38th percentile) in 2024–2025 to 124th of 326 (62nd percentile) in 2025–2026. As context, the school’s student-teacher ratio was 15.4 in 2024–2025, and 46% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that school year; these figures describe the school but do not explain its results.