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Hilton Head Island Middle

Q: Is Hilton Head Island Middle a good school?

Hilton Head Island Middle ranks 179 th of 341 South Carolina middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

179^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 341 South Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 48% of South Carolina middle schools

Summary

Hilton Head Island Middle serves 778 students in grades 6 through 8 and is the largest middle school in the Beaufort 01 district, located in Hilton Head Island, SC.

This school has a standout strength: a perfect 100% proficiency rate on the Algebra 1 End-of-Course exam for three consecutive years, far exceeding the district (67.9%) and state (74%) averages. That said, the overall picture is mixed. The school recently dropped to a 2-star rating (47th percentile statewide), its lowest in over a decade, after hovering near the 60th percentile for years. The decline is broad-based, affecting nearly every student group. For example, female students fell from the 68th to 43rd percentile, and students from low-income households dropped from the 52nd to 42nd percentile. English Language Arts scores do show steady improvement as students advance from 6th grade (49.8% proficiency) to 8th grade (58.8%), suggesting the school is effective at building literacy skills over time. However, math proficiency remains flat across grades, hovering around 37-40%.

Compared to nearby options, Bluffton Middle (76th percentile) and H. E. McCracken Middle (75th percentile) both earn 4-star ratings and outperform Hilton Head in nearly every subject and grade level—for instance, 6th grade math proficiency is 56.4% at Bluffton versus 39.1% here. Hilton Head actually spends more per student ($15,953) than Bluffton ($13,949), yet achieves lower results. Chronic absenteeism (22.3%) is also higher than Bluffton's 18.2%, which may be a contributing factor. The school's support for students with disabilities has declined sharply, from the 68th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 19th percentile in 2025-2026, and Hispanic students now rank in the 17th percentile. While the advanced math pathway is clearly exceptional, the school faces significant challenges in ensuring that excellence reaches all students.

778

Students ?

11.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,953

Per pupil spending ?

57.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

55 Wilborn Road
Hilton Head Island, SC 29926

(843) 689-4500

District: Beaufort 01

Students who attend Hilton Head Island Middle usually attend:

High:

Hilton Head Island High

Feeder schools for Hilton Head Island Middle:

Elementary:

Hilton Head Island Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

50.9%

White:

30.7%

African American:

12.3%

See top rated South Carolina middle schools

Compare Hilton Head Island Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 67th percentile in 2016 → 48th in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 19 percentile points since 2016

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school46%

District avg51%

South Carolina avg51%

179^th of 341

South Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 48%▼ down 19 pts since 2016

From top 33% (2016) to bottom 48% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 6Middle Schools in the Beaufort 01

28^th of 75Beaufort 01 among South Carolina 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	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	45.0	179 of 341	47.5%	★★☆☆☆
2025	54.1	131 of 321	59.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	57.2	122 of 322	62.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	55.3	126 of 325	61.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	57.7	110 of 310	64.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	55.1	131 of 311	57.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	60.2	107 of 315	66.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.4	119 of 303	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2017	56.7	125 of 317	60.6%	★★★☆☆
2016	64.5	100 of 303	67.0%	★★★☆☆
2015	54.4	122 of 301	59.5%	★★★☆☆
2014	50.7	153 of 291	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2013	51.8	143 of 276	48.2%	★★☆☆☆
2012	58.2	127 of 271	53.1%	★★★☆☆
2011	63.8	106 of 269	60.6%	★★★☆☆
2010	66.4	92 of 261	64.8%	★★★☆☆
2009	55.7	123 of 249	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2008	49.2	145 of 244	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2007	50.7	133 of 236	43.6%	★★☆☆☆
2006	57.8	107 of 231	53.7%	★★★☆☆
2005	55.1	112 of 230	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2004	51.5	123 of 230	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2003	51.7	118 of 225	47.6%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	49.2	126 of 258	51.2%	★★★☆☆
2025	49.7	116 of 251	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	31.7	178 of 246	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	30.4	180 of 253	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	43.2	124 of 249	50.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	31.7	167 of 235	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.4	236 of 252	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	21.2	209 of 237	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	28.9	153 of 192	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	30.8	140 of 184	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	55.5	57 of 177	67.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	42.0	103 of 187	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.2	123 of 183	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	35.3	104 of 164	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	35.4	128 of 195	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	49.0	90 of 194	53.6%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	29.8	86 of 113	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	41.9	55 of 110	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	47.5	44 of 104	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	31.1	68 of 95	28.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	38.6	57 of 97	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	36.5	55 of 87	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	32.7	88 of 117	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	37.0	62 of 93	33.3%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	42.8	177 of 310	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	63.6	92 of 295	68.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	60.9	102 of 293	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	57.2	111 of 299	62.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	54.2	122 of 290	57.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	50.9	125 of 279	55.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	56.8	122 of 296	58.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	52.2	125 of 281	55.5%	★★★☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	40.5	151 of 197	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	57.5	95 of 173	45.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	62.7	91 of 184	50.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	56.8	102 of 185	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	59.7	86 of 182	52.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	51.3	112 of 179	37.4%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	23.4	132 of 159	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	37.3	95 of 156	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	39.9	88 of 144	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.8	106 of 141	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	34.3	85 of 129	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	35.2	75 of 111	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	35.7	101 of 139	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	34.5	96 of 123	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	38.9	189 of 325	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2025	47.3	146 of 308	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	53.7	118 of 304	61.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	55.6	109 of 313	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	53.2	116 of 300	61.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	52.4	125 of 288	56.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	50.8	129 of 289	55.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	43.7	151 of 280	46.1%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	45.2	163 of 310	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	42.4	169 of 298	43.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	51.0	132 of 292	54.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	51.9	131 of 303	56.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	60.0	100 of 292	65.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	57.9	108 of 279	61.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	63.9	94 of 296	68.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	57.9	110 of 284	61.3%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	77.8	55 of 271	79.7%	★★★★☆
2025	84.9	34 of 259	86.9%	★★★★☆
2024	82.8	39 of 256	84.8%	★★★★☆
2023	78.7	46 of 260	82.3%	★★★★☆
2022	81.1	41 of 249	83.5%	★★★★☆
2021	78.4	45 of 244	81.6%	★★★★☆
2019	84.6	36 of 258	86.0%	★★★★☆
2018	76.1	49 of 250	80.4%	★★★★☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

White (2026)80th percentile+32 vs school

African American (2026)51st percentile+4 vs school

Male (2026)47th percentile~ school

Female (2026)43rd percentile-5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)42nd percentile-6 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)24th percentile-24 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)23rd percentile-24 vs school

Disabled (2026)20th percentile-27 vs school

Hispanic (2026)17th percentile-31 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts54%-4 vs state

Science44%-8 vs state

Mathematics38%-4 vs state

1.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Friday, June 5, 2015

Where to begin… These schools, like many others in Beaufort County are going downhill and fast. Why? Where there are many reasons, but a couple are at the top. First, too many illegal immigrants, that quite frankly don’t want to learn or be in school. I am a single parent working hard to support my children and instill good values, morals and to focus on doing well in school, and my tax money is paying for ILLEGAL immigrants to go to school, who could care less about learning. I’ve seen in the past couple of years, a focus from the School Board to get test scores higher, which is great, but what they have done is thrown more money and resources at the low performing schools and students in the district by sacrificing those higher performing schools and students. For example, the school district gives more money per student and offers more class selections/electives who attend Whale Branch Middle than they do at Hilton Head Island Middle. Yet year after year, Hilton Head Island Middle continues to score well above those students at Whale Branch, with fewer resources! The county needs to wake up and see that if all schools are given the same type of resources, quality teachers and etc. that there will still be certain schools that outperform others. Why is this? It is because of the families and how those kids are being raised, IT IS NOT ABOUT BEING RICH OR POOR! I don’t have a lot of money, but my children know school is number one, they want to do well in school, I support them, they study, hence they are straight A students – NOT rich. I am so tired of hearing about the rich students get the A’s and the poor students don’t do as well – that is crap! It starts with the families! If children are being raised by parents or guardians who do not support their children in school, and demand/expect them to do well – they won’t. If these families are not teaching respect to teachers and other students – they won’t. These students who are not getting what they need at home, WILL NOT ever do well in school, will always have low test scores, will always be disruptive in class, will always get in trouble and etc. The school cannot correct these types of things, yet they try and continue to fail. Wake up Beaufort County School District; parents of good students are tired of sacrificing their own child’s education to help lower performing students! Close Quote

Schools Near Hilton Head Island Middle

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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)				SC READY English Language Arts (2026)			SC READY Mathematics (2026)			SC READY Science (2026)	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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 (2024)	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	SC READY English Language Arts 6th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 7th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 8th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 6th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th Grade	SC READY Science 6th Grade	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Hilton Head Island Middle	Public	6-8	55 Wilborn Road	Hilton Head Island	29926	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 689-4500	778	69	11.2	57.6%	239 (30.7%)	96 (12.3%)	396 (50.9%)	7 (0.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (4.9%)	45	179^th of 341 public middle schools	47.5%		54.1	131^st of 321 public middle schools	59.2%	48	49.8	53.1	58.8	39.1	35.7	39.8	44.4		$15,953	$659	$392	$1,051	$12,572	$2,329	$14,901
Bluffton Middle	Public	6-8	30 New Mustang Road	Bluffton	29910	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 707-0700	921	65	14.1	61.6%	370 (40.2%)	96 (10.4%)	413 (44.8%)	10 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (3.5%)	71	84^th of 341 public middle schools	75.4%		68.8	87^th of 321 public middle schools	72.9%	3	61.5	65.0	57.3	56.4	53.1	50.1	67.1		$13,949	$457	$367	$824	$10,942	$2,183	$13,125
H. E. McCracken Middle	Public	6-8	250 H. E. McCracken Circle	Bluffton	29910	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 706-8700	846	68	12.4	51.7%	408 (48.2%)	79 (9.3%)	290 (34.3%)	18 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	50 (5.9%)	70.4	88^th of 341 public middle schools	74.2%		59.8	111^th of 321 public middle schools	65.4%	23	64.4	60.3	63.0	53.2	48.7	49.0	66.3		$15,619	$393	$353	$747	$12,483	$2,389	$14,872
Beaufort Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	2501 Mossy Oaks Boulevard	Beaufort	29902	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	Yes	No	No	(843) 322-5700	348	38	9.1	100.0%	116 (33.3%)	152 (43.7%)	49 (14.1%)	3 (0.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (7.8%)	52.1	149^th of 341 public middle schools	56.3%		45.3	162^nd of 321 public middle schools	49.5%	13	54.2	54.9	72.7	35.0	29.1	48.5	44.1		$22,884	$1,703	$571	$2,274	$16,438	$4,172	$20,610
Lady's Island Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	30 Cougar Drive	Beaufort	29907	Beaufort County	Beaufort 01	No	Yes	No	Yes	(843) 322-3100	338	38	8.8	100.0%	86 (25.4%)	171 (50.6%)	55 (16.3%)	7 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.6%)	40	200^th of 341 public middle schools	41.3%		40.9	182^nd of 321 public middle schools	43.3%	18	48.8	53.1	61.3	38.1	26.1	35.3	38.6		$22,164	$1,553	$630	$2,184	$16,080	$3,900	$19,980

Frequently Asked Questions about Hilton Head Island Middle

Is Hilton Head Island Middle a good school?

Hilton Head Island Middle ranks 179^th of 341 South Carolina middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Hilton Head Island Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 778 students attended Hilton Head Island Middle.

What high school do graduates of Hilton Head Island Middle attend?

Students who attend Hilton Head Island Middle usually go on to attend Hilton Head Island High

What is the racial makeup of Hilton Head Island Middle?

Students at Hilton Head Island Middle are 51% Hispanic, 31% White, 12% African American, 5% Two or more races.

What district is Hilton Head Island Middle in?

Beaufort 01

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Latest South Carolina data All new data »

2025–26 EOCEP & SC READY test scoresAug 10, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataNov 3, 2025

2024–25 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 3, 2025

2024–25 EOCEP & SC READY test scoresSep 2, 2025

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