Summary:
Zip code 31510 in Alma, Georgia, is served by a single middle school, Bacon County Middle School, which enrolls 462 students in grades 6-8 within the highly rated Bacon County district.
As the only middle school in the area, Bacon County Middle School presents a mixed picture for parents. On one hand, the school outperforms the state average in several key areas despite nearly 92% of its students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. In the most recent testing, 6th-grade math proficiency was 46.8% (6.1 points above the state), 8th-grade science was 36.3% (6.6 points above), and 8th-grade social studies was 46.6% (6.4 points above). The school also benefits from a favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.8:1 and per-student spending of $12,954. However, there are significant concerns. The school has seen its state ranking slip for three consecutive years, from 121st to 178th, and it experienced dramatic year-over-year declines in 8th grade across all subjects—most notably an 18.3-point drop in social studies and a 16.8-point drop in math. The most pressing issue is chronic absenteeism, which stands at 28.1%, meaning more than one in four students are chronically absent—a rate 10.4 points higher than the state average.
For parents, the key takeaway is that Bacon County Middle School is a high-poverty school that still manages to beat state averages in several subjects, suggesting effective instruction in STEM and social studies. The sharp declines in upper-grade performance may reflect a weaker cohort rather than systemic failure, especially since 6th-grade math improved by nearly 10 points. The school's biggest challenge is clearly attendance; addressing the 28.1% chronic absenteeism rate should be the top priority for sustaining academic gains. While the district overall earns a 4-star rating, this middle school's declining ranking indicates it faces unique challenges that parents should monitor closely, particularly as their children approach 8th grade.
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