Dickerson Middle School in Marietta | Military Town Advisor

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	10/10	The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 Georgia Milestones End-of-Course (EOC) Assessment data from Georgia Governor's Office of Student Achievement, and using 2025 Georgia Milestones End-of-Grade (EOG) Assessment data from Georgia Governor's Office of Student Achievement.
Student Growth	8/10	The Student Progress Rating measures whether students at this school are making academic progress over time based on student growth data provided by the Department of Education. Specifically, this rating looks at how much progress individual students have made on state assessments during the past year or more, how this performance aligns with expected progress based on a student growth model established by the state Department of Education, and how this school's growth data compares to other schools in the state. The Growth Rating was created using 2025 Student growth data from Georgia Governor's Office of Student Achievement.

Posted: February 13, 2026

Phenomenal public Middle School with a strong supportive community and engaged teachers and administrators.

Posted: February 13, 2026

Posted: February 14, 2025

Everyday feels worse than the last. We have a quiz every week and a test every other week. The school is allergic to creativity. As a 7th grader, I havent had a creative writing prompt for ELA the ENTIRE year. Its FEBRUARY. I work two hours every night after I get home at FIVE in the evening. This is a SEVEN hour school day, mind you. No recess. 20 minute lunch. Also, just because students arent getting beaten to a pulp in the hall doesnt mean bullying doesnt exist. The mental and psychological damage I have gained from my time at this school is insane. Its literally the middle school version of Harvard. They put an UNBELIEVABLE amount of stress on you, so much so that I have weekly mental breakdowns. The teachers dont care, and are either too harsh or too lenient. If you chew gum or talk during class, guess what? The ONE time a week we get to have recess is revoked, and instead you must stay inside and write an essay about what you did wrong. Also, the social standards are insane and every movement I make is judged. If your child goes to this school, make sure you have the money to pay for therapy. In the two years (not even) I have been here, my friends and I have experienced anxiety, depression, mental breakdowns, suicidal thoughts, migraines, and panic attacks. This school is hell. Dont think its a good school just because of the good test scores. Do you know where those scores come from? Nine to ten hours of work and studying every. Single. Day. Someone get me out of here.

Posted: December 27, 2024

Dickerson is a really good school compared to other ones in the area. I will say it is incredibly academically rigorous. They offer lots of different courses to accommodate everyone but even with that its hard. As a student who has been in all advanced classes through middle school, if you are participating in an extracurricular you will have to stay up until am time to finish your work. In advanced courses I would say you have three hours of homework a night (including weekends) and on average 4-6 quizes a week and 1-2 tests every week. I will say there music programs are beyond amazing. Most teachers are great and try to be supportive but with the way the school day is set up its often hard to get support. As for bulling goes I have never seen physical harasement ever. Middle school boys will be boys but its nothing like I have heard of elsewhere. There are definitly groups and if you don't fit in you might get verbally teased and feel alone and made to feel isolated but that's to the extent of it. The rough academic side if 100% something I would consider before coming to dickerson. Most people I know, including myself are deppressed, sleep deprived and have anxiety due to it all. In sumary, dickerson middle is a good school with good music programs and clubs, but the academic rigor is taxing and mentally tolling for teens.

Posted: December 27, 2024

Posted: August 19, 2024

Dickerson was very valuable for our kids. They got them ready for a rigorous high school curriculum and my kids have excelled in high school. The area we live in can be competitive so as a parent, you need to lay off the pressure and be supportive but if you do that your kids will do well in my experience.

Posted: August 19, 2024

Posted: April 30, 2024

As a parent myself, I can say that this school does not provide nearly what I expect for my child to succeed.

Posted: April 30, 2024

Terrible school and dont recommend to send your kid here, and they will also give you a week OSS if you accidentally do something like kick a soccer and it hits the teacher when u miss.

Posted: October 25, 2023

The needs of kids with mental health special needs is abhorrent

Posted: October 25, 2023

Posted: October 17, 2023

Dickerson Middle School discriminates between students. Students that have english as second language (ESOL) are measured on the basis of a criteria that places too much importance on English. It does not take into consideration mathematics for AC Science criteria. I want to know that for a STEM subject like Science that creates engineers and doctors, why is Maths not part of the criteria?

We want to develop doctors and engineers who are multi-lingual to meet the demands of a global workforce. We want the doctors to be able to understand different cultures and speak different languages to provide quality care. We want the future engineers to speak to be able to understand demands of customers from diverse backgrounds to create solutions that are inclusive. But, this is racism happening at school level, when ESOL students are not allowed to get into advanced classes because they scored 1058 in reading instead of 1100, or 80% in IOWA instead of 83%. All the other criteria of gifted identified, presidential excellence, A+ grade point average does not help to get ESOL students into advance science classes.

Posted: October 17, 2023

Posted: August 2, 2023

Its a reasonably good school academically but, like most of the district, its horribly inflexible. The school is well suited for bright, motivated students, but cant seem to accommodate gifted students whose needs go beyond the typical bright student.

Communication with administration is terrible, and almost all via email and newsletters. Trying to have a conversation with a human is rather like pulling teeth. Being directed to an individual who might provide more insight is impossible. The gatekeepers abound.

Its interesting that the district allows foundations to fund various opportunities not available at other schools, but refuses to allow individual students to pursue opportunities outside the norm. There seems to be an unusual fear of thinking outside the box. I hope this atmosphere of inflexibility and lack of creativity doesnt rub off on the students.

Posted: August 2, 2023

Posted: September 21, 2022

I used to go this school, and the bullying here is one of a kind. Instead of whats in the movies, you just get psychological turmoil. I can see that even after a year of being out of there, that stuff is still going on. I dreaded coming to school everyday during 8th grade because these children are trying way to hard to be mature. Im not sure how to change this, but it sucked. In eighth grade you should have fun, do stupid kid things. Not put 70 layers of make up on so no one points out youre one pimple. How can teachers pay such little attention to what goes on with these children? I dont get it. The punishments are either to harsh or to little. Dont recommend your kid going here unless you want to have to pay for therapy.

Posted: August 24, 2022

Dickerson is a excellent school academically, but socially and emotionally I cant say the same. The only reason I know is because I'm there most days out of the typical work week. The things that go on inside of those halls are crazy, the ''good kids'', (the straight A athletes (that cheat on everything) and attention starved teenage girls) are the main kids that act different in front of adults rather than alone. Even though kids might swear or laugh behind teachers backs BUT their switch ups are a different kind. Like for example, say a new kid that may not speak much English and is forcefully introduced to a group of ''popular'' kids by a teacher (hoping that they make friends) and as it may appear that the ''popular kids'' are ''taking them under their wing'' they are NOT. All they do is make it seem like their bonding but their actually humiliating them. And how do I know you ask? I've seen it happen SO many times. And bullying at Dickerson can result to kid's DREADING to having to deal with constant humiliation and constant insecurities & unrealistic beauty standards that are there. I even have a classmate that did NOT come to school for 2 MONTHS due to the fear of the cruel kids at that school. A teacher can chase you down the hallway for your shorts being 1 millimeter to short, even in the summer and it only seems to bother them.. THE STUDENTS DONT EVEN NOTICE SO WHATS THE POINT, but when a kid is getting peer pressured or bullied they all of a sudden don't care? The Cobb County school system in general very outdated (look at how old the board is) so PLEASE MAKE THIS SCHOOL YOUR LAST OPTION.

Posted: August 24, 2022

Posted: June 10, 2022

Dickerson is a nice school, its fairly clean, and the custodians try their hardest which I respect. But things that go on at Dickerson are different. There is most definitely bullying but not necessarily in the physical fashion, its more of a physiological way of bulling. People talk bad about you in general even about their own besties. And I know this because 1. I am one of those besties, now I am not. And 2. Several of my actual best friends got hurt by this. The administration has no tolerance for bullying, apparently, so when they do find it, whoever the bully is most definitely gets ATLEAST one day in ISS which I think is over the top because in 8th grade that instantly takes you off the music trips. So the administration is very trying to stop bullying but how they address bullying is ineffective. Dickerson is a very academically oriented school, just like its big brother Walton. Which can be good but for 80% of students they are not looking to go to Harvard and spend all their time outside of school for academics. As the majority of students have activities after school, which makes after school jammed packed. Thats why most students stay up late because they have to in order to have any free time after school. Then they struggle to wake up which causes them to be tired at school and not do as well. Also lunch is 23
Minutes long, 23! So kids have very little time to eat and socialize, the best part of lunch, and talking is strictly enforced so the reason why teachers keep getting mad is because they dont get anytime to talk with each other at school where for most people is the easiest time for them to talk with their friends because they have no time after school. In the hallways there is a computer lab in each grade so the hallways kind of wrap around the computer labs making a loop, so most kids like to loop as much as they can so they have more time to talk with their friends, but the teachers have stopped allowing looping which is another way to take away needed free time. Plus the backpacks are way to heavy, even though we got student laptops so we could go all electronic but teachers still use paper like the county didnt just pay hundreds of thousands of dollars on laptops for their students. Now Im not saying Dickerson is necessarily a bad school, because its middle school some of the supposedly best years of our lives, so as long as you just do you best in school and fun you should be ok, and do not be afraid to ask for help.

Posted: June 10, 2022

Posted: March 26, 2022

Ableist and humiliating. Keeps me up at night years later the cruelty of this area.

Posted: March 26, 2022

Posted: September 29, 2021

I agree with a lot of the reviews: the teachers only care about the smart students. If you are average/below average you will have a very hard time and get minimal help from some of the teachers and no help from the remainder of the teachers. There is a lot of money at this school, therefore some spoiled kids. But it the same time, there are a lot of good kids. Bullying DOES go on at this school - not quite sure how aggressively administration handles bullying. Yes, students have a lot of homework most of the time. Grading scale is not ten points for all letter grades, which I don't think is fair. A 72 is a D. Although I have complaints in multiple areas, I am glad my son went to Dickerson because it did push him and I believe it prepared him very well for high school. I know now that he can perform under the stress of a heavy workload. I feel sorry for the kids that are not able to keep up BC they get very minimal help, if any, from the teachers. If you are smart, you are in. If not, you are doomed. It was a struggle for my son a lot of the time, but I was there to push him and make him do what he needed to do to succeed. Some of a students success will come from home, from the parents holding them accountable for their grades and making sure they do what they need to do to succeed. No room for goofing off if you attend Dickerson. There are a lot of volunteer opportunities for parents, and a plethora of parents to help out. I suggest participating if you are able. The administration and teachers are more "understanding" of issues your student may have if you are involved with the school, as I am sure is the case at most schools.

Posted: September 29, 2021

Posted: November 15, 2020

It's a great school, if you want your child to stress about homework 24/7. The only thing this school is good at is enforcing grades. The only thing teachers care about are grades. You have a quiz every week, and a test every other week. Health teaches you about mental health and stress, but yet they are the reason the student is stressed. We NEED to rethink our public school system, and maybe realize that kids need time to enjoy their childhood before they are an adult and have to file taxes, buy houses and cars, etc.

Posted: November 15, 2020

Some teachers are nice and have a different approach to learning, however most use the old school way and that way doesn't help in high school or college.

Posted: November 15, 2020

Again, some teachers build on this, but I'd say about 95% of teachers ignore this important life skill and focus on grades and grades only.

Posted: November 15, 2020

Posted: August 26, 2020

Too much homework for kids who have things to do at home, like chores or after school activities

Posted: August 26, 2020

They only care about your grades, they dont care about your well being.

Posted: August 26, 2020

well that didnt work for me, all i learned is the school only cares about your grades

Posted: August 26, 2020

The administration is harsh and sometimes they are the bullies to girls who dont fit in the dress code, like who even cares we come to school to learn not for people to judge our clothing

Posted: August 26, 2020

This is one i will agree with they do support kids with learning differences or disabilities.

Posted: August 26, 2020

Bullying goes on all the time and the teachers do absolutely nothing about it. it hurts to see kids in the hallways getting bullied and then someone will tell a teacher or counselor and they do nothing about it, so the bullying therefore continues

Posted: August 26, 2020

i dont like this school, just dont come here. too much stress about grades, and bullying goes on, and the teachers dont have effective out looks for kids with depression or other mental disorders, they claim its just a phase, and then they make it worse, so go anywhere else but not here.

Posted: May 15, 2020

This school at best is below average they may make it look great on the outside with all of the test grades but they are way too hard on students and too highly focused on grades to care about their students well being.

Posted: May 15, 2020

They give way to much homework for the kids who have after school activitys

Posted: May 15, 2020

Some of the teachers in this school care about you while others are terrible people.

Posted: May 15, 2020

Posted: March 16, 2020

Amazing all of the teachers are superior

Posted: March 16, 2020

Posted: December 2, 2019

This school welcomed my 2 kids with open arms and helped them grow their grade average by a full grade level! And the kids there are amazing, they aren't snobby, rude, or bullies. Besides for 1 or 2 bad apples who don't have a good home life, the kids here have helped my two kids grow as people, and I hope that the district will continue to grow this outstanding school!

Posted: July 8, 2019

Most of the homework is useless, especially in useless classes like Georgia Studies, but at least its not too much homework. it's do-able, unlike walton high school which 90% of dickerson feeds into.

Posted: July 8, 2019

They have these posters about integrity and being proactive and all, but students take it as a joke. Just like Walton HS, Dickerson is full of rich snobby people. There are a few kind kids, but be careful with who you befriend.

Posted: July 8, 2019

there were very few leadership opportunities when I was there.

Posted: July 8, 2019

People sometimes fall behind in class, and there is no inbetween class. It's either too easy or too hard.

Posted: July 8, 2019

the kids bully a lot, but they obviously dont tell administration. However, the ADMINISTRATION kind of bullies girls. The dress code is terrible, but if a larger girl is wearing leggings (not allowed), she will be sent off. If a skinnier girl wears the same, she will get away with it. This has happened in multiple instances.

Posted: July 8, 2019

Im an advanced placement student and joined in 7th grade. It was easy to make friends, though I quickly realized how fake everyone there is. It took half the year just to get me into the right higher classes. I had all 98+ in my on levels and they still didn't move me until a LOT of nagging (thx mom). If you are moving from a different school system or in between grades, DONT. They are AWFUL at taking your opinion on your class placement to heart. They do not let kids be in the higher classes until they take a test that even the kids in the advanced class would fail. This sets the kid up for a high school career in lower classes than they should be in.

Posted: April 13, 2018

The teachers really are helping the students and care what the students are doing in class and homework.

Posted: April 13, 2018

Very caring and passionate teachers that want the kids to succeed.

Posted: April 13, 2018

Very detailed and organized school for students.

Posted: April 13, 2018

Very strong leadership at this school from teachers to the principal.

Posted: April 13, 2018

Teachers go out of their way to challenge students so they succeed in their school work and homework.

Posted: April 13, 2018

The staff at the school have a zero tolerance for bullying of any student in this school.

Posted: April 13, 2018

Excellent, forward thinking, college type settings, and the teachers and staff love the kids.. The school in East Cobb are better than private schools near by. My child came from a private school and from what we can tell is getting a far better education at this school than what we use to pay over $1500 a month for private school.

Posted: January 23, 2018

Since my family moved from different state, my children didn't take Milestone(GA standardized tests) and IOWA test which requires to be considered getting into advanced classes in Dickerson. My children were in advanced classes in their previous school. If your children will be transferred from other states to this school, I don't recommend to go to Dickerson unless the school will change their policy in the future.

Posted: January 23, 2018

Posted: December 23, 2016

The reviews below referencing teachers turning a blind eye to bullying and students targeting the disabled are 100% accurate. The administration has a history of being dishonest, and has gone to great lengths to protect unprofessional, irresponsible, and negligent teachers. There is very little regard or concern for the health and well-being of the disabled at Dickerson. Instead of the worst offenders being fired when (and only when) word manages to get out beyond the self-serving self-protective barrier the administration has created, at the expense of the students and the community. While strict and focused on performance (testing scores), a large number of the teachers are neither motivated (teachers spending significant class time on their smart phones) nor motivating (uninspired teaching, heavy focus on discipline and control), and are also by national standards not very competent (poor grammar, limited knowledge of their specialty).

Posted: August 25, 2014

I have a 7th grader at Dickerson and we are very happy with the school and the educational opportunity offered here. We moved to the area for the schools and he started at Dickerson last year as a 6th grader. Knowing almost no one in school along with all the other distractions of being a 6th grader, my son got off to a slow and slightly rocky start. All of his teachers responded with a great show of support for him and our family and very soon my son was back on track. He carries a full load of Advanced Curriculum coursework and is off to a great start to 7th grade. I only hope the school and staff is as wonderful when my younger son who is on level arrives at Dickerson next year.

Posted: July 23, 2014

The most pathetic school of them all. My younger brother went this school, and he was actually abused by the teachers, and the principle did not move an inch to stop this. Rather she wanted to protect the school, and so she let the bullying continue. This school does not care about children it only cares about the rating it is given. I hope there is a leadership change, and this school truly lives up its responsibility within the community.

Posted: May 22, 2014

My son just finished up his 6th grade year at Dickerson and overall it has been a positive experience. He took all AC classes and although the work was challenging at times, it was not overwhelming. It does take discipline on both the parent and student to make sure work is completed, but it doesn't interfere with sports or other activities. All of his teachers kept updated blogs which made it easy to check on assignments and tests. The administration is very approachable and easy to talk to about concerns. A small incident with another student was taken care of immediately. Dickerson is slightly militant, but I would rather that than chaos. There's very little hand holding and my son got a rude awakening when he forgot to turn in an assignment and received a zero. Welcome to real life. I imagine the majority of kids who go through Dickerson do not find high school that difficult.

Posted: October 23, 2013

My son attends Dickerson. I am glad that we chose this school for his 8th grade year, however it is EXTREMELY challenging and at times I find it to be a "living like the Jones" type environment. For us parents who consider themselves to be average, this school beams with money, popularity, and having the finer things. There is nothing wrong with this but if you're a family whose not financially able to keep up with the demands, this is NOT the school for you. Luckily we are very "able" but I think it takes away from teaching the students to be humble and focus on succeeding. The band (which my son participates in) is very good and there a alot of talented students. The teachers and admins are all very polite and care for the students. Not a whole lot of negative things to say, but I would've have liked to have seen more diversity among the students and staff...

Posted: August 8, 2013

To say the least, I did not enjoy my years at Dickerson. However, I'm glad I went through the Dickerson experience. I did not regret doing so. I found that there were only a selected few teachers I felt I could trust as a child. Because of this, I became friends with those who I had previously disliked in elementary school, and those who I had already befriended formed even stronger connections with me. I learned a lot at Dickerson, but I still feel like they pushed us too hard. I couldn't enjoy my subjects, and the teachers droned on and on - just looking at a textbook made me want to run away. I never felt supported by anyone but friends and family. In my experience, a student should feel like they can feel connected to their school. To Dickerson, I didn't. Once I got to 8th, my hair had begun to turn white. My doctor said it was from stress, so my mother transferred me to a different school. I don't think Dickerson deserves it's current "Best School in Atlanta". It will get you far, but the stress is ridiculous, and no student should have to go through that without so much as a choice of their own.

Posted: July 5, 2013

I'm a student at this school, and have been since 6th grade. All I can say is that they need to really, REALLY, work on discipline, talking, pushing people in the halls, the teachers and their attitudes, heavy homework and studying, gossiping, connections, acceptance, and the school overall. Their "good" reputation is kept by parents that are doctors and lawyers. They need to have more clubs too, for people that aren't so physically involved. You know, it needs to be a school to everyone, not to cheerleaders and football players. I feel bad for the people that go to this school, at least the average kids. If you don't have straight A's and a group, it's hard. They need to be bringing out the talents in students, not just those popular few, but the kids who aren't looked at everyday. I'm currently going to 8th grade, and it's been a hard run for me so far. I hope that they let off the academics a little bit. I'm not stupid, but I also don't want to be working on homework all day. I enjoy other things rather than school sometimes, no, all of the time, since this school is so stressing and pressuring. I don't have 5435 characters to sum it all up, but I'll try to leave you with that.

Posted: April 10, 2013

This is indeed a great school. I think that what some individuals here are complaining about is that in this school, academics is not dumbed down to appease the underachievers. If your child is struggling, get them help or help them yourselves. How about taking them off electronics until that D is a B??? Or is that too much work...

Posted: January 16, 2013

This school is great if you are quick with your work and independent. Teachers do not have time to help everyone in their class, and in subjects like math, I received 2-3 homework sheets with a back and front that are expected to be done by the next morning. Teachers are very kind, but to be honest, if you are not getting A's and B's, they can be a little unfriendly. But, if you are very independent and are fast with your work and earn good grades, this is the perfect school for you. Teachers do not take the necessary precautions to quiet the students down during class, and at least a quarter of the class is bound to be the group that constantly misbehaves. The girls are very gossipy, and once one of them said to my face, "Why are you so cool and why is your sister so weird?". This upset me very much - there are some nasty bullying / gossiping issues that the school needs to fix. The music program is very nice,and the library is a very nice place to work and has lots of reading and learning material. The school has a nice gym and field to play on. I wouldn't recommend this school unless you are an advanced student. If you are a average student like me, you won't survive.

#	Name	Type	City	State	Overall Rating	Distance
1	Heritage Farms	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Marietta	GA		7.1 mi
2	Garden Hills	Condominium/Townhouse	Atlanta	GA		9.6 mi

Base	Distance
Dobbins ARB	6.7 mi.
Fort Gillem	24.4 mi.
Camp Frank D Merrill	48.8 mi.

Dickerson Middle School

Marietta, GA 30068

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Dickerson Middle School

Marietta, GA 30068

School Ratings

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