Summary:
Hancock School District contains one middle school, Hancock Middle School, serving grades 6 through 8 in Kiln, MS, with an enrollment of 884 students. The district ranks 9th out of 134 districts statewide (93rd percentile, 5 stars), while the middle school ranks 68th out of 260 Mississippi middle schools (74th percentile, 4 stars) for 2025–2026. This discrepancy suggests that other schools within the district—elementary and high schools—are driving the district's elite status, not the middle school.
Academically, Hancock Middle School exceeds state proficiency averages across all subjects and grade levels. Mathematics is a particular strength: 7th-grade math proficiency reached 64.2% in 2025–2026 compared to the state's 57.7%, and 8th-grade math reached 60.0% versus the state's 51.4%. Science proficiency for 8th graders was 64.8% in 2025–2026, still well above the state's 57.8%, though it declined from 71.0% the previous year. English Language Arts is the weaker subject area; 7th-grade ELA proficiency of 43.5% is the lowest subject-grade combination, although it still beats the state average of 36.7%. A roughly 12-to-20-point gap between math and ELA proficiency highlights where instructional support may be needed.
The biggest red flag is chronic absenteeism. At 32.6% in 2023–2024, more than one in three students at the school is chronically absent—well above the district's 28.5% and the state's 23.9%. Year-over-year test scores also show concerning declines: average math proficiency dropped 3.4 points, 6th-grade math fell from 60.7% to 53.5%, and science fell 6.2 points. With 69% of students receiving free or reduced lunch, the school serves a predominantly low-income population yet still outperforms state averages—a resilience story. However, addressing chronic absenteeism and literacy gaps will be critical to improving from a 4-star to a 5-star rating.
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