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Southaven Middle School

Public Grades 6-8

204^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 263 Mississippi Middle Schools

Better than 22% of Mississippi middle schools

Summary

Southaven Middle School serves 1,423 students in grades 6–8 in Southaven, Mississippi, and is part of the DeSoto County School District. Despite belonging to a district rated above the state average, Southaven Middle School itself is the lowest-ranked middle school among its nearby peers, placing 203rd out of 260 Mississippi middle schools (22nd percentile, 1 star). The school has fallen steadily from a solid 3-star rating as recently as 2018–2019 to its current 1-star status—a sustained decline that no other school in the area has experienced.

Academic proficiency at Southaven trails district averages by wide margins in every subject. In 2025–2026, just 33.8% of 6th graders, 24.6% of 7th graders, and 24.3% of 8th graders were proficient in English Language Arts, compared to district averages of 47.5%, 39.3%, and 44.4%. Math gaps are even starker: 7th grade math proficiency sits at 39.4% versus a 66.2% district average, and 8th grade math is 40.0% versus 63.4%. Nearby schools paint a revealing contrast. DeSoto Central Middle School, just over four miles away, posts 7th grade math proficiency of 71.8%, while Lewisburg Middle School and Hernando Middle School rank in the 99th and 92nd percentiles statewide. Even Horn Lake Middle School, with higher poverty and similar absenteeism, ranks above Southaven.

Chronic absenteeism at Southaven has climbed from 7.2% in 2018–2019 to 26.5% in 2023–2024, exceeding the state average of 23.9%. About 64.5% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. These challenges are real, yet schools with comparable or higher poverty levels—including Horn Lake and Lake Cormorant—still achieve better outcomes, suggesting that school-level factors such as math instruction, attendance initiatives, and academic support are driving the underperformance. For parents considering Southaven Middle School, the key takeaway is that while the district is strong, this particular school has struggled for years to keep pace with its neighbors, and reversing that trend will require focused, sustained intervention.

1,423

Students ?

15.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$8,677

Per pupil spending ?

64.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

899 Rasco Road W
Southaven, MS 38671

(662) 280-0422

District: Desoto County School District

Students who attend Southaven Middle School usually attend:

High:

Southaven High School

Feeder schools for Southaven Middle School:

Elementary:	Greenbrook Elementary School
	Hope Sullivan Elementary School
	Southaven Elementary School
	Southaven Intermediate School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

61.3%

Hispanic:

16.8%

White:

15.2%

See top rated Mississippi middle schools

Compare Southaven Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 53rd percentile in 2016 → 22nd in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Mississippi average (35% vs 49% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (22nd percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 31 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school35%

District avg54%

Mississippi avg49%

204^th of 263

Mississippi public middle schools ?

Bottom 22%▼ down 31 pts since 2016

From top 47% (2016) to bottom 22% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Mississippi Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

8^th of 8Middle Schools in the Desoto County School District

45^th of 133Desoto County School District among Mississippi 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	Mississippi percentile	Rating
2026	25.6	204 of 263	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	28.6	191 of 265	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.4	203 of 259	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.7	180 of 228	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	37.5	146 of 233	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	44.6	130 of 229	43.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	51.9	115 of 223	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	50.9	113 of 211	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2017	60.0	103 of 272	62.1%	★★★☆☆
2016	52.2	122 of 260	53.1%	★★★☆☆
2015	48.2	130 of 266	51.1%	★★★☆☆
2014	30.9	191 of 264	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	57.5	124 of 269	53.9%	★★★☆☆
2012	56.6	116 of 270	57.0%	★★★☆☆
2011	59.5	118 of 264	55.3%	★★★☆☆
2010	62.6	93 of 255	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2009	69.8	64 of 247	74.1%	★★★★☆
2008	73.4	56 of 244	77.0%	★★★★☆

By subject vs Mississippi (2025-2026) ?

Science49%-9 vs state

Mathematics37%-17 vs state

English Language Arts28%-14 vs state

3.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

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What people are saying

by a parent
Monday, June 24, 2019

Worst education quality. The leadership and management here is horrendous. Do not work here or send a kid here. Close Quote

by a parent
Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Wonderful school. Close Quote

Schools Near Southaven Middle School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MAAP English Language Arts (2026)				MAAP Mathematics (2026)				MAAP Science (2026)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MAAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAAP Science 5th Grade	MAAP Science 8th Grade	Total
Southaven Middle School	Public	6-8	899 Rasco Road W	Southaven	38671	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 280-0422	1,423	89	15.9	64.5%	216 (15.2%)	873 (61.3%)	239 (16.8%)	15 (1.1%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.1%)	77 (5.4%)	25.6	204^th of 263 public middle schools	22.4%		28.6	191^st of 265 public middle schools	27.9%	13		33.8	24.6	24.3		32.3	39.4	40.0		48.6	$8,677
Horn Lake Middle School	Public	6-8	6125 Hurt Road	Horn Lake	38637	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 393-7443	948	65	14.6	71.0%	102 (10.8%)	692 (73.0%)	109 (11.5%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	40 (4.2%)	39.8	157^th of 263 public middle schools	40.3%		30.7	182^nd of 265 public middle schools	31.3%	25		36.1	24.2	38.3		44.5	50.1	47.6		50.0	$10,409
Desoto Central Middle School	Public	6-8	2611 Central Parkway	Southaven	38672	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 349-6660	1,388	79	17.5	41.9%	432 (31.1%)	665 (47.9%)	122 (8.8%)	59 (4.3%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.2%)	106 (7.6%)	77.6	52^nd of 263 public middle schools	80.2%		83.8	27^th of 265 public middle schools	89.8%	25		52.2	44.8	53.3		56.4	71.8	71.2		63.5	$8,390
Hernando Middle School	Public	6-8	805 Dilworth Lane	Hernando	38632	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 429-4154	1,183	69	17.1	27.0%	872 (73.7%)	129 (10.9%)	115 (9.7%)	10 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	56 (4.7%)	88.9	20^th of 263 public middle schools	92.4%		92.7	7^th of 265 public middle schools	97.4%	13		56.8	48.0	59.7		64.6	82.2	86.9		76.6	$8,420
Olive Branch Middle School	Public	6-8	6530 S. Blocker Street	Olive Branch	38654	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 895-4610	744	44	16.7	62.6%	214 (28.8%)	391 (52.6%)	94 (12.6%)	12 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (4.4%)	47.3	130^th of 263 public middle schools	50.6%		45.7	145^th of 265 public middle schools	45.3%	15		39.2	36.9	33.4		50.0	65.7	46.1		40.8	$10,305
Lake Cormorant Middle School	Public	6-8	3203 Wilson Mill Road W	Lake Cormorant	38641	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 781-0778	707	46	15.2	68.9%	250 (35.4%)	315 (44.6%)	93 (13.2%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	44 (6.2%)	45.6	136^th of 263 public middle schools	48.3%		46.8	141^st of 265 public middle schools	46.8%	5		41.0	29.1	36.4		42.0	53.6	54.3		52.7	$10,332
Center Hill Middle School	Public	6-8	8756 Forest Hill Irene	Olive Branch	38654	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 892-6800	757	46	16.4	46.6%	261 (34.5%)	365 (48.2%)	72 (9.5%)	25 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	33 (4.4%)	77.4	53^rd of 263 public middle schools	79.8%		81.2	42^nd of 265 public middle schools	84.2%	11		50.9	42.6	47.4		58.0	74.6	70.3		67.4	$8,783
Lewisburg Middle School	Public	6-8	2605 Highway 305 S	Hernando	38632	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 892-5050	996	59	16.8	21.8%	753 (75.6%)	114 (11.4%)	64 (6.4%)	17 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	47 (4.7%)	95.2	2^nd of 263 public middle schools	99.2%		93.2	5^th of 265 public middle schools	98.1%	3		68.6	60.0	59.1		85.9	90.9	86.0		74.3	$8,733
Byhalia Middle School	Public	5-8	172 Highway 309 North	Byhalia	38611	Marshall County	Marshall County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 838-2591	438	27	16.1	99.3%	103 (23.5%)	162 (37.0%)	144 (32.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (6.6%)	32	178^th of 263 public middle schools	32.3%		24.1	208^th of 265 public middle schools	21.5%	30	44.1	36.6	27.7	32.7	21.6	23.8	38.0	39.8	53.7	57.0	$9,909

Frequently Asked Questions about Southaven Middle School

What district is Southaven Middle School in?

Desoto County School District

How many students attend Southaven Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,423 students attended Southaven Middle School.

Is Southaven Middle School a good school?

Southaven Middle School ranks in the bottom 22.4% of Mississippi middle schools.

What is the racial makeup of Southaven Middle School?

Students at Southaven Middle School are 61% African American, 17% Hispanic, 15% White, 5% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

What high school do graduates of Southaven Middle School attend?

Students who attend Southaven Middle School usually go on to attend Southaven High School

Rate Southaven Middle School!

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Schools in Southaven, MS

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Latest Mississippi data All new data »

2024–25 attendance dataNewOct 6, 2026

2025–26 MAAP test scoresAug 21, 2026

2023–24 school spending dataSep 26, 2025

2023–24 through 2024–25 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 26, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Mississippi 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.