Summary:
Zip code 31750 is home to a single middle school, Ben Hill County Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 and enrolls 594 students in the Ben Hill County district.
For parents considering this area, Ben Hill County Middle School stands out as a school showing steady, measurable progress despite serving a student body where 100% qualify for free or reduced lunch. The school’s state ranking has improved three years in a row, climbing from 351st to 311th out of 578 Georgia middle schools, placing it in the 46th percentile. Its most notable academic strength is 8th-grade science, where proficiency rates (33.2%) have consistently exceeded the state average (29.7%) for two consecutive years. Math proficiency, while still below state averages, is trending upward in 6th and 7th grades, with 6th grade improving from 24.1% to 27% and 7th grade from 24.4% to 28.9% over the past year. The school also maintains a lower chronic absenteeism rate (15.0%) than both the district (18.0%) and state (17.7%), a positive sign for student engagement.
In terms of resources, the school invests heavily in its students, spending $15,378 per pupil and maintaining a favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.9 to 1, which allows for more individualized attention. Social studies proficiency (33.2%) trails the state average (40.2%), and math remains an area for growth, though the upward trajectory is encouraging. Note that English Language Arts (ELA) scores for the current year have not yet been released by the state; the most recent data shows proficiency around 30% across all grades, below state averages, but this is not a decline—it simply reflects the state’s staggered release schedule. Overall, this is a high-poverty school that is improving its ranking, excelling in science, and keeping students in class—a combination that suggests effective, targeted efforts to support its community.
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