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Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 31516

Test scores delayed: 2026 rankings for Georgia do not yet include English Language Arts scores, which will not be released by the Georgia Department of Education until winter 2026.

At a glance

Schools

1,304

Students

Top rankedMidway Elementary School128^th of 1,222 Georgia elementary schools

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Summary:

Zip code 31516 in Blackshear, Georgia, is home to two elementary schools—Blackshear Elementary School and Midway Elementary School—both serving grades PK-5 within the highly ranked Pierce County School District, which ranks in the top 5% of Georgia districts.

Midway Elementary School is the clear standout in this area, ranking in the 89th percentile of Georgia elementary schools compared to Blackshear Elementary School's 74th percentile. Midway excels across the board, with particularly impressive 5th-grade Science proficiency at 83.6%—nearly double the state average and 35 percentage points higher than Blackshear's 48.5%. Midway also outperforms Blackshear in every grade level for Mathematics, including a 70.4% proficiency rate in 3rd grade versus Blackshear's 57.8%. Both schools have low chronic absenteeism rates (8.6% at Midway and 10.1% at Blackshear) compared to the state average of 17.7%, and both exceed state averages in most subjects despite serving high-poverty populations (81% free/reduced lunch at Midway and 100% at Blackshear).

Blackshear Elementary School remains a solid performer but shows a concerning pattern of peaking in 4th grade before declining in 5th grade—its math proficiency drops from 73% in 4th grade to 44.7% in 5th grade, and its science proficiency lags significantly behind its sister school. Both schools have nearly identical per-student spending (~$14,000) and student-teacher ratios (~13.8), suggesting the performance gap stems from school-level instructional factors rather than resources. With Midway's consistent excellence across all subjects and Blackshear's strong early-grade performance, this zip code offers families two above-average elementary options within a top-ranked district, though Midway is the stronger choice for upper elementary years.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				Milestones Assessment Mathematics (2026)			Milestones Assessment Science (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 3rd Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Milestones Assessment Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Blackshear Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5217 Ga Highway 121	Blackshear	31516	Pierce County	Pierce County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 449-2088	820	59	13.8	100.0%	537 (65.5%)	124 (15.1%)	91 (11.1%)	3 (0.4%)	5 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	60 (7.3%)	71.1	312^th of 1222 public elementary schools	74.5%		73.9	284^th of 1238 public elementary schools	77.1%	28	57.8	73.0	44.7	48.5	$13,957	$1,399	$12,558
Midway Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3244 Midway Church Rd	Blackshear	31516	Pierce County	Pierce County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 807-0084	484	35	13.9	81.0%	387 (80.0%)	9 (1.9%)	67 (13.8%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (3.5%)	89.9	128^th of 1222 public elementary schools	89.5%		90.5	127^th of 1238 public elementary schools	89.7%	1	70.4	76.2	57.4	83.6	$14,060	$1,256	$12,804

Cities Near Zip Code 31516

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Blackshear	1.47 mi	4	18^th
Waycross	7.32 mi	11	141^st
Patterson	8.63 mi	1	37^th
Hoboken	10.75 mi	1	62^nd
Nahunta	15.14 mi	4	118^th

See the top GA Georgia cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Georgia Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.