Summary:
Zip code 38109 is served by a single middle school, Chickasaw Middle School, which enrolls 330 students in grades 6 through 8 as part of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. This makes it the central educational hub for local families, but also means there are no other middle schools in the area for comparison. Chickasaw has ranked in the bottom 1% of Tennessee middle schools for three consecutive reporting periods, sitting at 577th out of 583 schools in the 2024-2025 school year. The district itself is ranked 137th out of 141 districts in the state.
Academic proficiency at Chickasaw Middle School is critically low across every subject. In the most recent testing, only 5.3% of students were proficient in ELA across all grades, and 7th grade math proficiency was just 8.6%. The largest gaps compared to state averages appear in 7th grade social studies (7.9% vs. 56.0%) and 7th grade science (5.5% vs. 47.8%)—shortfalls of roughly 48 and 42 percentage points, respectively. Chronic absenteeism affects 24.8% of students, which is better than the district average of 30.2% but still well above the state average of 18.3%. The school spends about $14,330 per student, yet this higher spending does not translate into stronger outcomes.
Perhaps most concerning is the lack of improvement over time. Chickasaw has consistently ranked in the 1st or 2nd percentile since 2021, with no meaningful upward trend. This pattern suggests persistent, systemic challenges rather than a temporary dip. Notably, the dataset does not include free/reduced lunch percentages or student-teacher ratios, which limits a full understanding of the school's circumstances. For parents, the picture is clear: Chickasaw Middle School is in severe academic distress, and despite spending levels that exceed $14,000 per student, proficiency rates remain in the single digits. The combination of low performance, high absenteeism, and stagnant rankings points to an urgent need for targeted intervention and support.
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