Tapp Middle School, Powder Springs GA

Original Research by School Decision on Tapp Middle School

Tapp Middle School serves a suburban middle school population in Powder Springs, just outside Atlanta in Cobb County. The school enrolls roughly that size for a middle school, with a student body that is predominantly Black, followed by Hispanic, with smaller shares of white and multiracial students. About three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the economic circumstances of the families the school serves.

The school's academic performance sits below the midpoint when measured against other districts in Cobb County. In English Language Arts, proficiency across the three grades hovers in the low-to-mid range. In mathematics, the results are similar, with eighth-grade proficiency notably lower than sixth and seventh grades. Science proficiency at the eighth grade is particularly low. Social studies proficiency at eighth grade also sits in the lower range. The picture here is one of students who are struggling to meet grade-level standards across the board, with some subjects and grades presenting steeper challenges than others.

The school is a regular public middle school with standard sixth-through-eighth-grade organization. It sits on Macedonia Road in Powder Springs, embedded in a suburban neighborhood rather than downtown; public schools in the area are spread across separate campuses rather than clustered in a civic center. Powder Springs itself is a family-oriented suburban city with a historic downtown core, newer residential development, and trail connections to the regional rail-to-trails system. The community includes both established neighborhoods and new multifamily and single-family construction, particularly to the south of the city center. Housing values and rents in the 30127 zip code are near national averages, though rent-to-income ratio runs moderately above national norms.

State testing data is available for math and English language arts at all three grade levels, and for science and social studies at eighth grade only (Georgia does not test those subjects at sixth and seventh grade). No multi-year trend data is available yet, so it is not possible to assess whether performance is moving, stable, or changing. Information on special education enrollment rates, English learner populations, chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, and course offerings was not available. A parent may want to reach out to the school directly to understand the academic supports available, especially in science, and to learn more about the specific interventions or pathway options the school uses for students working below grade level.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 45% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 50% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 55% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 647%

School 47% · District 51% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 745%

School 45% · District 51% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 48% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Science

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 34% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 49% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

This schoolCobb County, 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 6Lower-income37%Higher-income71%34 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income53%20 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income43%Higher-income67%24 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income38%Higher-income64%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income66%33 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income61%22 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income29%Higher-income57%27 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income34%Higher-income61%27 pp gap