Middle Schools in Jefferson County

Jefferson County Middle School is the sole middle school in Jefferson County, serving grades 6-8 with 440 students in the rural Stapleton, GA area.

This school has shown steady, if modest, improvement over the past three years. Its state ranking has climbed from the 12th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 20th percentile in 2025-2026, though it still sits in the bottom quintile of Georgia middle schools. The most encouraging news comes from mathematics, where proficiency rates improved across all grade levels from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026. Seventh grade saw the biggest jump, rising from 12.7% to 19.5% proficient, while sixth grade improved from 22.0% to 26.8% and eighth grade from 19.2% to 22.0%. Social studies also showed strong gains, climbing from 9.0% to 17.7% proficiency. However, science scores declined from 15.1% to 10.6% proficient, and the most recent English Language Arts data (from 2024-2025) shows only 15-18% proficiency across grades—well below state averages of roughly 40%.

Despite these challenges, the school benefits from a favorable 12.2:1 student-teacher ratio and per-student spending of $13,995, which is robust given that 100% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The biggest concern beyond test scores is chronic absenteeism, which sits at 21.1%—3.4 points above the state average. This likely contributes to the significant achievement gaps, which range from 14 to 25 percentage points below state proficiency rates in math, science, and social studies. The school's improving ranking and consistent math gains suggest positive momentum, but reducing absenteeism and replicating the math success in other subjects will be key to continued progress. Parents should watch for the December release of current-year ELA scores to see if literacy improvements follow the same upward trend.