Destin Middle School, Destin FL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Destin Middle School

Destin Middle School sits on Legendary Marina Drive within the gated Regatta Bay community, a setting that reflects the broader character of Destin itself: a coastal city that evolved from a fishing village into a resort destination, with homes and neighborhoods shaped by proximity to the Gulf and Choctawhatchee Bay. The school serves fifth through eighth grade, making it the bridge between Destin Elementary and the newer Destin High School, which opened as a public charter in 2021 and graduated its first class in 2023. That high school added academies in commercial fishing and captain's license prep, biomedical sciences, business, and cyber-IT, giving the Destin pathway a more complete local arc than it had for most of the city's history.

On Florida's FAST assessments for 2024-25, Destin Middle posts results that are clearly strong in the earlier grades and soften somewhat by eighth grade. Fifth-grade math proficiency lands well above three-quarters of students, and seventh-grade math is even higher. Eighth-grade math drops to just above six in ten students proficient, which is a noticeable step down from the grades before it; parents of incoming eighth graders may want to ask the school directly about how it supports students through that transition. ELA runs more evenly across grades, with fifth and sixth grade in the mid-seventies and seventh and eighth in the high sixties to low seventies. Science proficiency at both the fifth- and eighth-grade levels tested sits in the high sixties, which is a reasonable result. Multi-year trend data was not available for comparison, so it is not possible to say whether these numbers are rising or flat.

Because Okaloosa County has only one district in the comparison set, no meaningful peer ranking was generated, so those metrics are not reported here. What can be said is that Okaloosa County School District has publicly reported earning the top state grade from the Florida Department of Education every year since the grading system began, one of only three Florida districts with that record, and for 2024-25 the district's overall scores and share of A- and B-rated schools both improved. Destin Middle sits within that broader context.

About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that places the school closer to the lower end of economic need relative to many Florida schools. The student body is majority white, with Hispanic students making up the next largest group, and meaningful representation from students identifying as two or more races. Data on students with IEPs and English learners was not reported in the available data, so those dimensions of student support cannot be characterized here.

The housing market around Destin is expensive by any measure, sitting well above both the Florida state median and the national median, and home values have remained roughly flat year over year. Rents are rising. The city's development focus currently tilts toward infrastructure, including a US-98 corridor transportation study, drainage improvements, and park upgrades, rather than large new housing tracts. Population growth within the city limits is modest. For families already in Destin, it is worth knowing that the district recently approved a major construction bond program, including a classroom addition at Destin Elementary, funded partly through a voter-approved half-cent sales tax that draws revenue from tourism spending as well as residents.

The school's campus location inside Regatta Bay, rather than in a walkable neighborhood core, means daily routines are car-dependent, as is most of Destin outside the harbor district. Civic resources including the Destin Library, a county parks system with several sports complexes and beach access points, and the Emerald Coast Rider transit service are spread across the city. The broader Destin economy runs on tourism, healthcare anchored by a full-service regional hospital, and the defense and military presence of Eglin Air Force Base and related contractors throughout Okaloosa County, which shapes the working-family profile of many households whose children attend schools here.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 580%

School 80% · District 65% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 672%

School 72% · District 65% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 784%

School 84% · District 77% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 861%

School 61% · District 56% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 575%

School 75% · District 61% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 674%

School 74% · District 68% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 769%

School 69% · District 64% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 871%

School 71% · District 64% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Science

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 61% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 63% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

This schoolOKALOOSA, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income68%Higher-income80%12 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income69%Higher-income80%11 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income59%Higher-income76%17 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income62%Higher-income78%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income75%Higher-income84%9 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income67%Higher-income78%11 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income78%Higher-income88%10 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income51%Higher-income72%21 pp gap