Summary:
Zip code 38363 in rural west Tennessee is served by a single middle school, Decatur County Middle School, which enrolls 424 students in grades 5 through 8 and earns a consistent 4-star rating from SchoolDigger, ranking in the top quartile of Tennessee middle schools. As the only middle school in the area, Decatur County Middle School defines the local landscape, and it stands out for strong science and social studies outcomes, exceptional 8th-grade performance, and a notable pattern of grade-level contrasts.
Decatur County Middle School outperforms the state in science (56.7% proficient vs. 46.9% state) and social studies (55.2% vs. 51.4%), while hovering near state averages in math (44.3% vs. 43.0%) and English language arts (41.1% vs. 40.6%). The school’s 8th graders are especially strong, beating the state by nearly 25 points in math and 14 points in ELA, but 5th graders struggle — particularly in math, where only 32.7% are proficient compared to the 47.4% state average. Year-over-year results are a mixed bag: math proficiency dropped sharply (down 8 points), while social studies jumped 10.5 points, ELA rose 7.7 points, and science improved 7.6 points. Relative to its district, Decatur County Schools, the school leads in science and social studies but falls slightly behind in all-grade math and ELA, even though it still outpaces state averages in those subjects.
A key concern is chronic absenteeism: 19.6% of students are chronically absent, higher than both the district’s 15.3% and the state’s 18.3%, which may contribute to uneven performance in lower grades. Spending per student is $11,680, though a lack of free/reduced lunch data limits socioeconomic context. Overall, Decatur County Middle School remains a stable, top-quartile institution with clear strengths in upper-grade achievement and content areas like science and social studies, but it faces meaningful challenges in 5th-grade math and attendance that families should keep in mind.
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