Summary:
Magee, Mississippi, is served by just one middle school — Magee Middle School — which enrolls roughly 260 students in grades 6 through 8 as part of the Simpson County School District. Nearly all students (94%) are economically disadvantaged, and the school has a favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.2 to 1, suggesting relatively small class sizes.
Magee Middle School faces serious challenges, most notably chronic absenteeism: 53.8% of students were chronically absent in the latest year, more than double the state average and nearly 13 points higher than its district. Academic proficiency remains below state averages overall, with English Language Arts being the biggest concern — no ELA grade level reached 32% proficiency, and gaps with the state often exceeded 20 points. However, the school consistently outperforms its district average on overall test proficiency, and math is a relative strength. Its 7th-grade math proficiency (58.5%) actually surpassed both the district and state in the most recent school year.
There are several encouraging signs. Eighth-grade science proficiency jumped from 34.7% to 48.8% in one year, closing much of the gap with the state. The school's state ranking has also improved three years in a row, moving from the 22nd to the 27th percentile. Overall proficiency rose from 32.9% to 36.4% year over year. For parents, this is a high-poverty school with real structural challenges — particularly absenteeism and reading — but it has a favorable class-size environment, a clear academic strength in math, and a steady upward trajectory that suggests the school is making progress despite difficult circumstances.
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