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South Middle School

Q: Is South Middle School a good school?

South Middle School ranks 430 th of 583 Tennessee middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

430^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 583 Tennessee Middle Schools

Better than 26% of Tennessee middle schools

Summary

South Middle School is a public middle school located in Cowan, Tennessee, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 318 students. The school is part of the Franklin County School District, which is ranked 103 out of 139 districts in Tennessee and is rated 1 star out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

South Middle School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Tennessee middle schools, maintaining a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger, which indicates poor overall performance. The school significantly underperforms the state and district averages in academic proficiency across all subject areas, with proficiency rates ranging from 11.8% to 35.2% compared to the state averages of 29.6% to 49%. Additionally, South Middle School has had consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 17.4% to 20.2%, which is significantly higher than the state average.

When comparing South Middle School to the nearby North Middle School (within the same district) and the West and East Middle Schools (in the Tullahoma district), South Middle School consistently underperforms across all academic measures. The nearby schools, particularly East Middle School, demonstrate significantly higher proficiency rates and overall performance. Despite being in the same district for several years, South Middle School has not shown any meaningful improvement in its performance or ranking, suggesting a need for significant intervention and support to address the underlying issues.

361

Students ?

13.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,796

Per pupil spending ?

63%

Free/discounted lunch ?

601 West Cumberland ST
Cowan, TN 37318

(931) 967-7355

District: Franklin County

Students who attend South Middle School usually attend:

High:

Franklin County High School

Feeder schools for South Middle School:

Elementary:	Cowan Elementary
	Sewanee Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

83.1%

African American:

8.9%

Hispanic:

4.4%

See top rated Tennessee middle schools

Compare South Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 25th percentile in 2014 → 26th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Tennessee average (29% vs 43% meeting standards)

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

!Mathematics scores 18 pts below the Tennessee average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school29%

District avg33%

Tennessee avg43%

430^th of 583

Tennessee public middle schools ?

Bottom 26%▼ down 3 pts since 2015

From bottom 30% (2015) to bottom 26% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Tennessee Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2Middle Schools in the Franklin County

103^rd of 139Franklin County among Tennessee 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	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	28.5	430 of 583	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.4	452 of 587	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.7	437 of 594	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.7	474 of 569	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	17.2	473 of 576	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.7	448 of 574	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.7	405 of 563	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	10.9	349 of 362	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	41.8	346 of 492	29.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	35.6	366 of 485	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	45.0	336 of 475	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	33.7	349 of 466	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	44.6	286 of 462	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2010	43.7	257 of 435	40.9%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	14.9	288 of 312	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	31.6	205 of 318	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	16.4	294 of 316	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	26.2	211 of 299	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.7	208 of 277	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	36.2	173 of 293	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	46.5	121 of 284	57.4%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	32.2	384 of 546	29.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	24.6	432 of 554	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.5	432 of 560	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.5	452 of 552	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	24.6	410 of 538	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.2	402 of 529	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	30.0	370 of 490	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	33.9	334 of 510	34.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.8	355 of 514	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	18.3	441 of 495	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.5	416 of 483	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.0	405 of 490	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.1	382 of 481	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	24.0	433 of 550	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.1	433 of 560	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.6	399 of 557	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.3	461 of 540	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	14.5	455 of 529	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.0	420 of 523	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	36.7	183 of 332	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	29.7	219 of 299	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	30.2	200 of 288	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	27.5	217 of 260	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	35.8	145 of 238	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	18.4	220 of 222	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	39.4	151 of 279	45.9%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	21.3	417 of 492	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.9	459 of 504	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.4	444 of 503	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	12.3	473 of 500	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	12.8	467 of 496	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.8	430 of 484	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.9	418 of 481	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Special Education (2025)45th percentile+19 vs school

Female (2025)30th percentile+3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)24th percentile~ school

Male (2025)21st percentile-5 vs school

White (2025)15th percentile-11 vs school

African American (2025)8th percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs Tennessee (2024-2025) ?

Social Studies35%-14 vs state

Science32%-14 vs state

Mathematics24%-18 vs state

English Language Arts24%-15 vs state

★

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Schools Near South Middle School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				TNReady Mathematics (2025)				TNReady English Language Arts (2025)				TNReady Algebra I (2025)		TNReady Science (2025)				TNReady Social Studies (2025)				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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	TNReady Mathematics 6th Grade	TNReady Mathematics 7th Grade	TNReady Mathematics 8th Grade	TNReady Mathematics All Grades	TNReady English Language Arts 6th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts 7th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts 8th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts All Grades	TNReady Algebra I 8th Grade	TNReady Algebra I All Grades	TNReady Science 6th Grade	TNReady Science 7th Grade	TNReady Science 8th Grade	TNReady Science All Grades	TNReady Social Studies 6th Grade	TNReady Social Studies 7th Grade	TNReady Social Studies 8th Grade	TNReady Social Studies All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
South Middle School	Public	6-8	601 West Cumberland ST	Cowan	37318	Franklin County	Franklin County	No	No	No	Yes	(931) 967-7355	318	24	13.2		266 (83.6%)	25 (7.9%)	19 (6.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.5%)	28.5	430^th of 583 public middle schools	26.2%		24.4	452^nd of 587 public middle schools	23.0%	22	23.4	20.8	29.4	23.9	33.6	20.8	11.8	23.6			29.2	38.4	25.9	31.7	38.7	39.2	23.5	35.2	$12,796	$1,206	$10,782
North Middle School	Public	6-8	2990 Decherd BLVD	Winchester	37398	Franklin County	Franklin County	No	No	No	Yes	(931) 967-5323	577	33	17.4		485 (84.1%)	32 (5.5%)	42 (7.3%)	4 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	10 (1.7%)	26.2	448^th of 583 public middle schools	23.2%		24.7	447^th of 587 public middle schools	23.9%	1	25.3	20.5	17.8	21.1	26.5	19.9	16.2	20.7			30.7	38.6	32.4	33.9	29.5	35.7	34.1	33.1	$11,976	$843	$10,455
West Middle School	Public	6-8	90 Hermitage DR	Tullahoma	37388	Franklin County	Tullahoma	No	No	No	No	(931) 454-2605	406	28	14.4		316 (77.8%)	42 (10.3%)	28 (6.9%)	5 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.7%)	36.9	377^th of 583 public middle schools	35.3%		37.8	357^th of 587 public middle schools	39.2%	20	35.5	25.8	31.7	30.9	28.1	32.0	28.6	29.6	93.3	93.3	32.2	35.9	34.5	34.2	24.8	38.3	37.8	33.7	$14,328	$808	$12,609
East Middle School	Public	6-8	908 Country Club DR	Tullahoma	37388	Coffee County	Tullahoma	No	No	No	No	(931) 454-2632	380	28	13.7		270 (71.1%)	28 (7.4%)	37 (9.7%)	8 (2.1%)	4 (1.1%)	1 (0.3%)	32 (8.4%)	59.5	205^th of 583 public middle schools	64.8%		53.8	244^th of 587 public middle schools	58.4%	39	53.6	41.4	33.9	43.2	44.9	34.5	23.0	34.2	91.7	91.7	49.3	55.2	41.2	48.7	36.2	50.3	54.4	47.0	$14,328	$808	$12,609

Frequently Asked Questions about South Middle School

What high school do graduates of South Middle School attend?

Students who attend South Middle School usually go on to attend Franklin County High School

What is the racial makeup of South Middle School?

Students at South Middle School are 83% White, 9% African American, 4% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races.

How many students attend South Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 361 students attended South Middle School.

Is South Middle School a good school?

South Middle School ranks 430^th of 583 Tennessee middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What district is South Middle School in?

Franklin County

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