Best Public Schools in Zip Code 31516

Zip code 31516 in Blackshear, Georgia, is served by four public schools within the highly-ranked Pierce County School District, which holds a 5-star rating and ranks #10 out of 201 districts in the state, enrolling approximately 3,182 students across elementary, middle, and high school levels.

For parents, the standout school in this area is Midway Elementary School, which consistently outperforms both district and state averages despite being the smallest school. Its 5th-grade Science proficiency rate of 83.6% is nearly double the state average, and it leads Blackshear Elementary School by significant margins in math and science. Pierce County High School shows strong results in Algebra I (88.4% proficiency vs. 48.1% statewide) and boasts a 95.9% graduation rate, though its state ranking has slipped from the 95th to 89th percentile over three years. Pierce County Middle School is on the rise, jumping from the 85th to 94th percentile in state rankings, with an impressively low chronic absenteeism rate of 6.6%—less than half the district average. Blackshear Elementary, serving a 100% free/reduced lunch population, trails its peer school in most subjects but still maintains a respectable 74th percentile ranking.

The district shows a notable strength in science education across multiple grade levels, with middle school 8th-grade Science proficiency more than double the state average. However, parents should note some volatility in year-over-year scores, including a significant drop in high school US History proficiency from 53.1% to 36.8%, and rising chronic absenteeism at the high school (16.3%) compared to the middle school feeding into it. Per-student spending varies notably, with elementary schools spending roughly $3,000 more per student than the high school, yet the high school still achieves strong math and science outcomes. Overall, this district performs well above state averages in most subjects, with clear excellence in STEM areas and a few trends—particularly high school absenteeism and US History performance—that merit attention.