Summary:
There is one middle school in the Stone County School District: Stone Middle School, serving grades 6 through 8 in Wiggins, MS, with 575 students. Because it is the only middle school in the district, the district’s middle school results are identical to the school’s, so all the attention falls on this single school. Stone Middle School is a clear standout, ranking 28th out of 260 Mississippi middle schools in the most recent year, up from 42nd three years ago. That places the school in the top 11% statewide, and the district itself is ranked 14th out of 134 districts with a 5-star rating.
Across every subject and grade level, Stone Middle School beats the state average. The strongest results are in math and science: 7th grade math proficiency is 79.9% (22 points above the state), 6th grade math is 72.5%, and 8th grade science is 77.4%. English Language Arts is also above average, though more uneven. While 6th and 8th grade ELA improved to 63.2% and 56.5%, 7th grade ELA slipped to 41.4% after being over 50% the previous year. That drop, along with a small dip in 6th grade math, are the main soft spots. Still, the overall trend is positive, with year-over-year gains in most subjects. This is especially impressive given that nearly 60% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
The biggest concern is chronic absenteeism: 31.1% of students are chronically absent, well above the state average of 23.9% and the district’s 25.2%. Even with such strong test scores, attendance is an area that could hold the school back if not addressed. For parents, the bottom line is that Stone Middle School offers a high-performing, improving education environment, particularly in math and science. The school is effectively carrying the entire district’s middle school ranking, and if it can stabilize 7th grade ELA and reduce absenteeism, it is well positioned to continue climbing the state rankings.
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