The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in Science. The lowest is 21% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Durant Ms
Durant MS is a public middle school serving seventh and eighth graders in the Durant Independent School District, the county seat of Bryan County in southeastern Oklahoma. It is a conventional grade 7-8 school, not a charter or magnet, and does not receive Title I funding based on available data.
The student body is diverse and substantial for a two-grade school. White students make up roughly half the enrollment, with American Indian or Alaska Native students representing a large share, followed by Hispanic students, multiracial students, and smaller numbers of Black and Asian students. The school does not report the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, nor does it report the proportion of students with Individualized Education Programs or English learner status. A parent evaluating the school’s support framework will find those key measures absent from public data and may want to ask the school directly about resource allocation, special education staffing, and English language services.
Academic performance on the Oklahoma School Testing Program (OSTP) shows a mixed picture. In math, proficiency rates were below a quarter of students in both seventh and eighth grades. English language arts results were similar, with about a quarter of seventh graders and a smaller share of eighth graders reaching proficiency. Science, tested in eighth grade only, saw roughly half of students scoring proficient or above, a notably stronger result than in the other core subjects. The state changed the cut scores for math and ELA in this testing cycle, meaning that direct comparisons to previous years are not feasible; it is unclear whether the lower proficiency rates reflect a higher bar or a decline in performance. Within Bryan County, the school’s overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint when measured against other districts, placing it in the middle-to-stronger tier of its local context.
Because Durant MS serves only middle school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The district as a whole has seen graduation rates rise over the past several years, according to publicly reported information, and it has also received federal funding for clean school buses. Those district-level trends are not specific to this school but may signal broader operational priorities.
Durant is a community experiencing notable growth. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is the largest employer, and Southeastern Oklahoma State University brings a college-town element. The city’s economy blends tourism, manufacturing, and distribution, and new investments have fueled expansion. Housing in the area is priced near the statewide median, with rents rising modestly. The school’s location on West Walnut Street places it in a residential part of town, not in the downtown historic district.
This school fits a family looking for a mid-sized middle school in a growing, economically diverse small city with a strong tribal and university presence. The academic data point to lower proficiency in math and reading relative to science, and missing information on student support populations means a careful conversation with the school is warranted. The relative standing within Bryan County suggests that despite the low absolute proficiency numbers, this school performs at a level consistent with or slightly above many of its immediate neighbors.
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