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Tupelo Middle School

Q: Is Tupelo Middle School a good school?

Tupelo Middle School ranks 80 th of 263 Mississippi middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 7-8

80^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 263 Mississippi Middle Schools

Better than 70% of Mississippi middle schools

Summary

Tupelo Middle School is a large public middle school in Tupelo, Mississippi, serving 1,070 students in just 7th and 8th grades as part of the Tupelo Public School District. It is by far the biggest middle school in the area — more than 400 students larger than nearby Guntown Middle School — and about 67% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The school has historically been a solid performer, earning 4-star ratings for most of the past decade, but its state ranking has drifted downward from the 86th percentile in 2021-2022 to the 69th percentile in 2025-2026.

The school's standout strength is Algebra I: nearly all students passed the end-of-course exam in recent years, with 98.8% proficiency in 2025-2026 compared to a state average near 66%. That success, however, sits alongside more modest results in regular 8th-grade math, which has fallen to 52.3% proficiency. English language arts and science scores have also slipped over the past two years. Just 8.4 miles away, Mooreville Middle School outperforms Tupelo in 7th-grade math (83.9% vs. 65.1%), 8th-grade math (69.0% vs. 52.3%), and 8th-grade science (85.3% vs. 59.2%). Still, Tupelo remains far ahead of high-poverty neighbors like Plantersville Middle School, where proficiency rates are dramatically lower in every subject.

The most pressing concern for parents is chronic absenteeism: 36.3% of students were chronically absent in 2023-2024, more than double the pre-pandemic rate of 17.3% in 2018-2019. That rate is higher than many schools with similar or greater economic disadvantage — Okolona Middle School, for example, has 100% student poverty but only 5.9% chronic absenteeism. This suggests school-level factors are contributing, and targeted attendance interventions could make a real difference. Addressing absenteeism and the literacy dip that appears to happen as students transition into 7th grade would likely do the most to reverse the school's recent downward trend.

1,070

Students ?

13.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,592

Per pupil spending ?

67%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1009 Varsity Drive
Tupelo, MS 38801

(662) 840-8780

District: Tupelo Public School District

Students who attend Tupelo Middle School usually attend:

High:

Tupelo High School

Feeder schools for Tupelo Middle School:

Elementary:	Carver Elementary School
	Joyner Elementary School
	Lawhon Elementary School
	Lawndale Elementary School
	More...
	Parkway Elementary School
	Pierce Street Elementary School
	Rankin Elementary School
	Thomas Street Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

52.8%

White:

32.1%

Hispanic:

9.3%

See top rated Mississippi middle schools

Compare Tupelo Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 79th percentile in 2016 → 70th in 2026

Strengths

✓Above the Mississippi median (70th percentile)

Worth a look

!High chronic absenteeism (36% vs 24% Mississippi)

!Ranking has slipped — down 9 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school54%

District avg55%

Mississippi avg52%

80^th of 263

Mississippi public middle schools ?

Top 30%▼ down 9 pts since 2016

From top 21% (2016) to top 30% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Mississippi Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

59^th of 133Tupelo Public 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	67.7	80 of 263	69.6%	★★★★☆
2025	74.8	61 of 266	77.1%	★★★★☆
2024	78.3	51 of 264	80.7%	★★★★☆
2023	76.8	50 of 243	79.4%	★★★★☆
2022	81.8	35 of 257	86.4%	★★★★☆
2021	75.7	52 of 257	79.8%	★★★★☆
2019	79.1	47 of 264	82.2%	★★★★☆
2018	75.8	54 of 252	78.6%	★★★★☆
2017	77.7	48 of 272	82.4%	★★★★☆
2016	75.9	55 of 260	78.8%	★★★★☆
2015	83.3	35 of 266	86.8%	★★★★☆
2014	69.4	67 of 264	74.6%	★★★★☆
2013	61.4	109 of 269	59.5%	★★★☆☆
2012	51.9	135 of 270	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2011	55.9	125 of 264	52.7%	★★★☆☆
2010	71.4	61 of 255	76.1%	★★★★☆
2009	74.7	52 of 247	78.9%	★★★★☆
2008	76.8	46 of 244	81.1%	★★★★☆

By subject vs Mississippi (2025-2026) ?

Algebra I99%+33 vs state

Science59%~ state avg

Mathematics58%+4 vs state

English Language Arts43%+4 vs state

1.0

2 ratings · 1 written review

5★0

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1★2

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What people are saying

by a student
Friday, January 22, 2021

not good

Schools Near Tupelo 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 Algebra I (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 Algebra I End of Course	MAAP Science 5th Grade	MAAP Science 8th Grade	Total
Tupelo Middle School	Public	7-8	1009 Varsity Drive	Tupelo	38801	Lee County	Tupelo Public School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 840-8780	1,070	77	13.9	67.0%	344 (32.1%)	565 (52.8%)	100 (9.3%)	34 (3.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (2.4%)	67.7	80^th of 263 public middle schools	69.6%		74.8	61^st of 266 public middle schools	77.1%	19			39.4	46.2			65.1	52.3	98.8		59.2	$10,592
Milam Elementary School	Public	6	720 West Jefferson	Tupelo	38804	Lee County	Tupelo Public School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 841-8920	456	37	12.3	66.7%	127 (27.9%)	248 (54.4%)	47 (10.3%)	15 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.2%)								(n/a)		52.2				57.0						$11,300
Plantersville Middle School	Public	5-8	2657 Main St.	Plantersville	38862	Lee County	Lee County	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 842-4690	241	24	10.0	99.6%	9 (3.7%)	192 (79.7%)	25 (10.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (6.2%)	14.1	244^th of 263 public middle schools	7.2%		17.4	222^nd of 266 public middle schools	16.5%	22	26.0	27.3	18.9	25.0	3.8	14.5	29.3	37.6		56.6	35.5	$15,440
Mooreville Middle School	Public	6-8	964 Cr 1409	Mooreville	38857	Lee County	Lee County	No	No	No	No	(662) 680-4894	333	28	11.9	48.6%	284 (85.3%)	16 (4.8%)	16 (4.8%)	4 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.9%)	77.4	54^th of 263 public middle schools	79.5%		82.3	36^th of 266 public middle schools	86.5%	18		48.5	39.8	46.1		54.5	83.9	69.0			85.3	$9,927
Shannon Middle School	Public	6-8	232 Cherry Street	Shannon	38868	Lee County	Lee County	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 767-3986	190	21	9.1	87.4%	57 (30.0%)	116 (61.1%)	11 (5.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.2%)	25.3	207^th of 263 public middle schools	21.3%		28.4	194^th of 266 public middle schools	27.1%	13		32.0	25.5	30.5		30.6	46.8	27.8			47.9	$13,390
Nettleton Junior High	Public	6-8	1532 Maple Road	Nettleton	38858	Itawamba County	Nettleton School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(662) 963-7400	243	18	13.5	80.7%	143 (58.8%)	58 (23.9%)	7 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (14.4%)	40	155^th of 263 public middle schools	41.1%		41	161^st of 266 public middle schools	39.5%	6		33.3	37.4	14.5		61.1	57.8	27.6			50.0	$10,338
Guntown Middle School	Public	6-8	1539 Main St.	Guntown	38849	Lee County	Lee County	No	No	No	No	(662) 348-8800	674	55	12.1	51.9%	497 (73.7%)	118 (17.5%)	22 (3.3%)	11 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (3.9%)	55.8	111^th of 263 public middle schools	57.8%		65.1	92^nd of 266 public middle schools	65.4%	19		44.7	35.6	43.3		44.2	54.2	47.3			65.5	$9,670
Pontotoc Middle School	Public	5-6	135 Education Drive	Pontotoc	38863	Pontotoc County	Pontotoc City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 489-6056	316	27	11.5	72.8%	154 (48.7%)	89 (28.2%)	53 (16.8%)	3 (0.9%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	15 (4.7%)								(n/a)	58.4	49.7			71.1	71.0				74.7		$10,321
Pontotoc Junior High School	Public	7-8	132 North Main Street	Pontotoc	38863	Pontotoc County	Pontotoc City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 489-8360	361	31	11.6	71.5%	172 (47.6%)	82 (22.7%)	79 (21.9%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (7.2%)	71.8	66^th of 263 public middle schools	74.9%		73.6	66^th of 266 public middle schools	75.2%				35.4	47.7			68.0	56.4			65.7	$11,487
Okolona Middle School	Public	6-8	404 Howard Gunn Street	Okolona	38860	Chickasaw County	Okolona School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 447-2362	125	11	10.9	100.0%	8 (6.4%)	112 (89.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.0%)	30.7	187^th of 263 public middle schools	28.9%		28.9	189^th of 266 public middle schools	28.9%	2		28.9	37.5	19.5		39.4	43.7	29.2			56.1	$13,972

Frequently Asked Questions about Tupelo Middle School

What district is Tupelo Middle School in?

Tupelo Public School District

What high school do graduates of Tupelo Middle School attend?

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

How many students attend Tupelo Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,070 students attended Tupelo Middle School.

Is Tupelo Middle School a good school?

Tupelo Middle School ranks 80^th of 263 Mississippi middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Tupelo Middle School?

Students at Tupelo Middle School are 53% African American, 32% White, 9% Hispanic, 3% Asian, 2% Two or more races.

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MSMississippi Middle School Rankings

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Schools in Tupelo, MS

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Latest Mississippi data All new data »

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

2023–24 graduation ratesSep 23, 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.