Best Middle Schools in Kiln, MS

Kiln, Mississippi is served by a single middle school, Hancock Middle School, which enrolls 884 students in grades 6 through 8 and belongs to the Hancock School District, a 5-star district ranked 9th out of 134 districts in Mississippi. Since no other middle schools exist in Kiln, Hancock Middle School stands alone as the area's sole middle school option, making comparisons against district and state averages the most meaningful benchmarks.

Hancock Middle School has consistently ranked in the top quartile of Mississippi middle schools, landing 68th out of 260 schools (74th percentile, 4 stars) for the 2025–2026 school year, down slightly from 57th place in the prior two years. Academically, the school outperforms the state average in every subject and grade level tested. Mathematics and 8th-grade science are the clear strengths; in 2024–2025, the school beat the state by 11.6 to 16.3 percentage points in these areas, and in 2025–2026 it maintains strong gaps of up to +8.6 points in 8th-grade math and +7.0 in 8th-grade science. English Language Arts is above the state average but less dominant, with 7th-grade ELA the weakest area at 43.5% proficiency in 2025–2026. Notable year-over-year declines include 6th-grade math falling 7.2 points and 8th-grade science dropping 6.2 points, though the school still exceeds state averages in most subjects.

One significant concern is chronic absenteeism: 32.6% of Hancock Middle School students were chronically absent in 2023–2024, well above the district rate of 28.5% and the state rate of 23.9%. The school also serves a population with 69% free/reduced lunch eligibility, making its above-average test scores noteworthy. Interestingly, while the Hancock School District ranks in the top 10 statewide, Hancock Middle School itself ranks in the 74th percentile, suggesting the district's top-tier rating may be driven by other schools. The student-teacher ratio is not reported, which limits staffing comparisons. Overall, Hancock Middle School offers solid academics with particular strength in math and science, but families should be aware of the elevated chronic absenteeism and the slight downward trend in recent test scores.