Summary
Kirby Middle School is a grades 6–8 school in Memphis, Tennessee, serving 402 students under the state-run Achievement School District, which was created to turn around Tennessee's lowest-performing schools. The school has been among the very bottom of the state's middle schools for years; in 2025–2026, it ranked 587th out of 594 schools, landing in the 1st percentile with zero stars. Proficiency rates are in the single digits in most subjects: just 5.3% of students scored proficient in English Language Arts, 12.4% in Science, and 8.9% in Social Studies. Chronic absenteeism is a major concern, with 52% of students considered chronically absent — nearly three times the state average of 18.3%.
When compared with nearby middle schools, the picture is especially stark. Hickory Ridge Middle School, less than a mile away, posts an English Language Arts proficiency rate of 12.4% — more than double Kirby's — while Power Center Academy Middle School, about 2.5 miles away, achieves 36.9% proficiency in Social Studies. Chronic absenteeism at those schools is far lower, at 13.7% and 10.3% respectively. At the same time, Kirby spends considerably more than its neighbors: $17,796 per student in 2024–2025, compared with roughly $13,000 to $15,000 at nearby schools. That combination of high spending and persistently low outcomes has remained unchanged for years, with proficiency rates essentially flat since 2018.
There is one modest exception to the otherwise discouraging pattern: special education students at Kirby have ranked around the 16th to 24th percentile statewide over the past three years, suggesting that targeted supports for this group are more effective than the school's general education program. Still, for most students, the data show no meaningful upward trend across seven school years, and chronic absenteeism has actually worsened, climbing from 28.2% in 2021–2022 to 52% in 2024–2025. For parents considering Kirby, the most urgent priorities to understand are the severe attendance challenges and the fact that nearby schools — many of them spending less money — are achieving noticeably better results.
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