Summary:
Pearl River County School District contains one middle school, Pearl River Central Junior High in Carriere, MS, serving grades 6-8 with 762 students and a 16.4:1 student-teacher ratio, while the Pearl River County School District ranks 13th out of 134 Mississippi districts (90th percentile, 5 stars).
Pearl River Central Junior High has shown a dramatic upward trajectory in statewide rankings, improving from 122nd in 2024-2025 to 61st in 2025-2026 out of roughly 260 Mississippi middle schools — a 61-place jump into the top quarter. Mathematics is the school's clearest strength, outperforming the state in every grade across both school years, with 6th grade math proficiency at 67.0% versus 52.7% statewide in 2025-2026, a 14.3-point advantage. Science also improved sharply, with 8th grade proficiency rising from 50.4% to 67.9% — now 10.1 points above the state average. English Language Arts showed a notable 7th grade rebound from 24.4% (nearly 13 points below state) to 40.1% (3.4 points above state), a 15.7-point year-over-year gain.
Despite over 60% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, the school is achieving strong results, ranking in the top quarter of Mississippi middle schools. However, chronic absenteeism stands at 34.3%, well above the state rate of 23.9% and the district's 32.5%. With roughly one in three students chronically absent, addressing attendance could unlock even greater academic gains. Overall, Pearl River Central Junior High is a school clearly on the rise, with strong math performance, emerging science strength, and improving ELA outcomes that position it well within Mississippi's middle school landscape.
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