The top reported proficiency rate is 10% in Science. The lowest is 8% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Kirby Middle School
Kirby Middle School is a state-run charter school in Memphis that serves grades six through eight. It is part of the Achievement School District (ASD), a statewide turnaround district that the Tennessee legislature has voted to dissolve. Under current law, Kirby Middle will be returned to the control of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools system before the start of the 2026-27 school year, meaning any family considering this school should expect a change in governance and oversight in the near future.
The student body is predominantly Black, with a smaller Hispanic population and very small numbers of white students, Asian students, and students of two or more races. The school serves a few hundred students across three grades, with each grade enrolling roughly the same number of students. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are classified as English learners was not available, which leaves an incomplete picture of the student support needs the school addresses.
On state assessments, Kirby Middle’s results are limited. Proficiency rates in math and English language arts were suppressed in the most recent testing year, so there is no public data for those subjects. The school reported results for science and social studies. In science, about one in ten students scored at the proficient level or above. In social studies, the rate was slightly lower, below one in ten. The overall proficiency index across all tested subjects places the school in the bottom quartile among districts in Shelby County. A parent may want to ask the school directly for its math and reading results, as those are the subjects most commonly used to gauge academic progress. Participation rates on the tests were high, so the results reflect nearly the entire student body.
The school’s broader context matters here. The ASD was established to take over Tennessee’s lowest-performing schools and turn them around. A 2024 study from Brown University found that the district did not significantly improve student test scores or high school graduation rates and may have produced worse outcomes at the high school level. That research informed the legislative decision to end the ASD. Families enrolled at Kirby Middle are in a school that has been part of a state experiment that, by the state’s own accounting and independent research, did not deliver the promised academic improvements.
Housing in the zip code served by the school is below both state and national benchmarks in value, and rents are also on a downward trend. The area is less expensive than much of the Memphis metro, which may appeal to families looking for lower housing costs. Memphis itself is a large city with a riverfront park that underwent a major renovation in 2023, extensive urban parkland at Shelby Farms and Overton Park, and cultural anchors such as the National Civil Rights Museum, Graceland, and Beale Street. The Memphis Area Transit Authority provides public bus service.
For a family weighing this school, the central question is timing. Kirby Middle will transfer to Memphis-Shelby County Schools within a year, and the exact nature of that transition, including staffing, programming, and the school’s academic strategy, has not been determined publicly. The school’s academic record is thin, and where results are available they are low. The school’s status as a charter within the ASD means it has operated with autonomy from the local district, but that autonomy will end. Families who value stability and a clear academic track record may want to look into what the transition plan looks like and what data the school can share about its math and reading instruction.
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