Summary:
Zip code 31216 in Macon, Georgia, is served by four schools in the Bibb County School District, including two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, with a combined enrollment of roughly 2,766 students.
For families with younger children, Heard Elementary School is the standout choice, earning the area's only 3-star rating and ranking in the 56th percentile statewide. Its 4th grade math proficiency (53%) is nearly 20 points above the district average, and its chronic absenteeism rate (14.3%) is below the state average. Porter Elementary School has shown the most dramatic improvement, jumping from the 10th to the 37th percentile in two years, and it leads the area in 5th grade science (56.3% proficiency, 12 points above the state). Porter also has the most favorable student-teacher ratio (12.9:1) and the highest per-student spending ($16,330). Both elementary schools outperform the middle and high schools in most subjects, and both have chronic absenteeism rates (13.6% and 14.3%) that are better than the state average of 17.7%.
The picture changes significantly at the secondary level. Rutland High School posts a strong graduation rate (90.4%, above both district and state) and a low dropout rate (1.5%), but its chronic absenteeism is a crisis-level 37.4%—more than double the state rate—and its Algebra I proficiency (13.3%) is less than a third of the state average. The school does show strengths in Biology and U.S. History, outperforming the district in both. Rutland Middle School has a notable bright spot in Algebra I (39% proficiency, nearly 17 points above the district), but its overall proficiency lags, and its chronic absenteeism (28.1%) is also well above state norms. The sharp rise in absenteeism from elementary to middle to high school, combined with declining test scores, suggests that student disengagement becomes a major challenge in the older grades, even as the elementary schools provide a solid foundation.
Thank you for your feedback!