Best Middle Schools in Myrtle Beach, SC

The middle schools in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, are part of the Horry 01 school district, which serves approximately 6,350 students across seven schools in grades 5-8, with the district itself ranking in the 88th percentile statewide. This area offers a clear hierarchy of school performance, with Ocean Bay Middle standing out as the clear academic leader, ranking 30th in the state with a 5-star rating and the highest proficiency rates in nearly every subject—including 78.4% in 8th grade ELA and 71.2% in 8th grade math. Ten Oaks Middle is the largest school and a consistent performer, ranking 43rd with strong ELA scores across all grades, while Socastee Middle and St. James Middle round out a solid middle tier, all performing above state averages.

At the other end of the spectrum, Myrtle Beach Middle is the lowest-performing school in the group, ranking 179th in the state with proficiency rates well below district and state averages—only 37.9% proficient in 8th grade math and 48% in 8th grade ELA. Forestbrook Middle sits just above it, ranking 91st, though it showed significant improvement in 8th grade math, jumping from 32.1% to 48.8% proficiency. Interestingly, the St. James Intermediate school, which serves grades 5-6, excels in science with 77.1% proficiency, but its feeder school, St. James Middle, shows a decline in math performance and has the highest chronic absenteeism rate at 22.7%.

One of the most striking findings is that per-student spending shows no correlation with performance—Socastee Middle spends the most at $13,839 per student but doesn't outperform schools spending less, while Ten Oaks Middle spends the least yet ranks highly. Chronic absenteeism appears to be a strong predictor of success, with the top three schools all having rates below 20%, while the lower-performing schools exceed 21%. Additionally, every school offering Algebra 1 reports near-perfect pass rates on the EOCEP exam, suggesting that advanced students are well-supported, but the wide gap between general math proficiency and Algebra 1 success highlights a significant challenge in scaling that achievement to all students.