Charleston Middle School

Charleston Middle School is a small public school in Charleston, Mississippi, serving approximately 208 students in grades 5–8 within the East Tallahatchie School District. The school has historically ranked in the bottom quarter of Mississippi middle schools, placing 229th out of 260 schools in the most recent 2025–2026 ranking with a 1-star rating.

Parents should know that the school faces significant challenges. Chronic absenteeism is a major concern — 43.2% of students were chronically absent in 2023–2024, nearly double the statewide rate of 23.9%. The student population is also profoundly economically disadvantaged, with 100% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in recent years. Academic proficiency lags well behind state averages in every subject and grade level. For example, only 14.3% of 5th graders and 9.8% of 8th graders were proficient in English language arts, compared to 55.8% and 40.9% statewide. Math proficiency is somewhat stronger, with 8th grade math reaching 33.4% proficiency versus 51.4% statewide.

There are some encouraging signs. Math performance has shown meaningful growth for several cohorts — one group improved from 13.5% proficiency in 6th grade to 35.3% in 7th grade. Science proficiency has also risen from 17.3% in 2022–2023 to 33.4% in 2025–2026, with a strong 46.7% showing in 2024–2025. Charleston Middle School has moved from 0-star ratings to 1-star ratings in the last two years, and its percentile rank has improved from the 2nd percentile in 2022–2023 to 12th–14th percentile recently. However, the newest 5th grade class arrived with notably weaker skills than the previous cohort, and reducing chronic absenteeism remains the most urgent priority. Since Charleston Middle School is the only middle school in the East Tallahatchie School District, the most meaningful benchmark for parents is the statewide averages referenced above.