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Powell Middle School

Q: Is Powell Middle School a good school?

Powell Middle School ranks in the bottom 0.4% of Mississippi middle schools.

Q: How many students attend Powell Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 704 students attended Powell Middle School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Powell Middle School?

Students at Powell Middle School are 97% African American, 2% Hispanic.

Q: What high school do graduates of Powell Middle School attend?

Students who attend Powell Middle School usually go on to attend Callaway High School

Public Grades 6-8

262^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 263 Mississippi Middle Schools

Better than 0% of Mississippi middle schools

Summary

Powell Middle School is a grades 6–8 middle school serving 704 students in Jackson, Mississippi, as part of the Jackson Public Schools district, which is ranked 112th out of 134 districts in the state with a 1-star rating. The school serves an almost exclusively low-income population, with essentially 100% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, and maintains a student-teacher ratio of 12.5 to 1 — similar to nearby Kirksey Middle School and Clinton Junior High School, which suggests staffing levels are not the primary issue.

Academically, Powell sits at the very bottom of Mississippi's rankings, placing 259th out of 260 middle schools in 2025–26 with a 0-star rating. This is not a one-year fluke: the school has ranked in the bottom few percent of the state for over a decade. Proficiency rates are dramatically below state averages in every subject. For instance, 8th-grade math proficiency is just 7.8% at Powell versus 51.4% statewide, and 8th-grade science is 17.5% versus 57.8% statewide. Chronic absenteeism is also severely elevated, with 37.4% of students chronically absent in 2023–24 compared to 23.9% statewide, and nearly half of students chronically absent in 2022–23.

What makes Powell's performance especially striking is the contrast with nearby schools serving similarly high-poverty populations. Northwest Middle School and Bailey APAC Middle School, both in the same district and only about 3.5 miles away, rank in the top 15% of the state with 8th-grade math proficiency rates of 64.8% and 68.6% respectively — roughly 50 to 60 percentage points above Powell's. Other neighbors like Blackburn Middle School share Powell's struggles, showing these challenges are systemic but not inevitable. Attendance and limited access to advanced coursework like Algebra I are the clearest areas to investigate for improvement.

704

Students ?

12.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,140

Per pupil spending ?

99.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3655 Livingston Road
Jackson, MS 39213

(769) 228-0042

District: Jackson Public Schools

Students who attend Powell Middle School usually attend:

High:

Callaway High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

97.3%

Hispanic:

1.7%

White:

0.9%

See top rated Mississippi middle schools

Compare Powell Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 7th percentile in 2016 → <1st in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Mississippi average (12% vs 51% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (<1st percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (37% vs 24% Mississippi)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school12%

District avg28%

Mississippi avg51%

262^nd of 263

Mississippi public middle schools ?

Bottom 1%▼ down 6 pts since 2016

From bottom 7% (2016) to bottom 1% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Mississippi Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

6^th of 7Middle Schools in the Jackson Public Schools

109^th of 133Jackson Public Schools among Mississippi districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Mississippi percentile	Rating
2026	2.0	262 of 263	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	4.9	259 of 266	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	3.6	262 of 264	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.4	241 of 243	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	4.7	255 of 257	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	6.2	252 of 257	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	4.3	263 of 264	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	6.6	244 of 252	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	7.6	262 of 272	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	11.3	243 of 260	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	8.2	262 of 266	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	11.8	248 of 264	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	7.3	262 of 269	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	22.1	223 of 270	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	27.1	219 of 264	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	22.3	215 of 255	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	18.5	204 of 247	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	29.6	184 of 244	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Mississippi (2025-2026) ?

Science18%-40 vs state

English Language Arts11%-31 vs state

Mathematics10%-44 vs state

★

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Schools Near Powell Middle School

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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)				MAAP English Language Arts (2026)					MAAP Mathematics (2026)					MAAP Algebra I (2026)	MAAP Science (2026)		MAAP Biology (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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	MAAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAAP Algebra I End of Course	MAAP Science 5th Grade	MAAP Science 8th Grade	MAAP Biology End of Course	Total
Powell Middle School	Public	6-8	3655 Livingston Road	Jackson	39213	Hinds County	Jackson Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(769) 228-0042	704	56	12.5	99.6%	6 (0.9%)	685 (97.3%)	12 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	2	262^nd of 263 public middle schools	0.4%		4.9	259^th of 266 public middle schools	2.6%	3			13.9	9.1	8.4			11.1	11.7	7.8			17.5		$16,140
Smilow Prep	Public, Charter	5-8	787 E Northside Dr.	Jackson	39206	Hinds County	Joel E. Smilow Prep	Yes	No	No	Yes	(769) 524-5330	521	26	20.0	99.8%	1 (0.2%)	515 (98.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	7.5	254^th of 263 public middle schools	3.4%		16.5	228^th of 266 public middle schools	14.3%	26		40.8	28.7	15.5	18.1		23.6	23.8	14.5	19.6		40.3	23.0		$12,327
Kirksey Middle School	Public	6-8	5677 Highland Drive	Jackson	39206	Hinds County	Jackson Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(769) 228-0028	389	30	12.7	100.0%	8 (2.1%)	340 (87.4%)	33 (8.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.1%)	6.1	256^th of 263 public middle schools	2.7%		15.6	233^rd of 266 public middle schools	12.4%	23			17.5	11.7	21.7			23.0	23.7	9.3	85.7		24.7		$17,184
Northwest Middle School	Public	6-8	7020 Highway 49 North	Jackson	39213	Hinds County	Jackson Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 987-3609	242	23	10.3	100.0%	2 (0.8%)	231 (95.5%)	8 (3.3%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	85.3	31^st of 263 public middle schools	88.2%		83.7	28^th of 266 public middle schools	89.5%	3			66.3	46.4	78.9			59.0	66.6	64.8	96.2		87.3		$19,264
Bailey APAC Middle School	Public	4-8	1900 North State Street	Jackson	39213	Hinds County	Jackson Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(769) 320-1887	318	28	11.4	99.1%	23 (7.2%)	288 (90.6%)	4 (1.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	83.7	34^th of 263 public middle schools	87.1%		86.5	22^nd of 266 public middle schools	91.7%	12	70.6	85.7	58.7	49.6	62.8	47.1	53.6	64.8	76.6	68.6	95.3	96.4	59.8		$15,604
Blackburn Middle School	Public	6-8	1311 West Pearl Street	Jackson	39203	Hinds County	Jackson Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 960-5329	317	43	7.3	99.7%	2 (0.6%)	310 (97.8%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	4	260^th of 263 public middle schools	1.1%		4.6	260^th of 266 public middle schools	2.3%				15.1	9.7	18.5			11.0	16.6	15.6	91.6		21.9		$16,571
Reimagine Prep	Public, Charter	5-8	309 W. McDowell Rd.	Jackson	39204	Hinds County	Reimagine Prep	Yes	No	No	Yes	(601) 941-0844	457	21	21.7	100.0%	5 (1.1%)	443 (96.9%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.1%)	14.3	243^rd of 263 public middle schools	7.6%		9.8	248^th of 266 public middle schools	6.8%	5		45.2	24.7	27.9	23.1		32.3	13.7	30.6	26.1		53.4	36.2		$12,878
Peeples Middle School	Public	6-8	2940 Belvedere Drive	Jackson	39212	Hinds County	Jackson Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 346-5660	541	47	11.6	100.0%	5 (0.9%)	450 (83.2%)	76 (14.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.8%)	1.9	263^rd of 263 public middle schools	0.0%		3.1	262^nd of 266 public middle schools	1.5%	1			10.3	9.3	11.8			7.1	12.9	5.9			17.5		$16,248
Clinton Junior High School	Public	7-8	711 Lakeview Drive	Clinton	39056	Hinds County	Clinton Public School District	No	No	No	No	(601) 924-0619	862	59	14.7	44.4%	281 (32.6%)	487 (56.5%)	32 (3.7%)	46 (5.3%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	14 (1.6%)	93.4	5^th of 263 public middle schools	98.1%		93.9	4^th of 266 public middle schools	98.5%	1				55.9	59.5				73.9	83.7	100.0		77.0		$9,209
Old Town Middle School	Public	6-8	210 Sunnybrook Road	Ridgeland	39157	Madison County	Madison County Schools	No	No	No	No	(601) 898-8730	693	58	11.8	75.6%	53 (7.6%)	435 (62.8%)	169 (24.4%)	25 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.6%)	65.3	81^st of 263 public middle schools	69.2%					(n/a)			51.0	40.7	46.2			45.0	61.2	61.2	100.0		58.8	100.0	$13,231

Frequently Asked Questions about Powell Middle School

What high school do graduates of Powell Middle School attend?

Students who attend Powell Middle School usually go on to attend Callaway High School

Is Powell Middle School a good school?

Powell Middle School ranks in the bottom 0.4% of Mississippi middle schools.

How many students attend Powell Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 704 students attended Powell Middle School.

What district is Powell Middle School in?

Jackson Public Schools

What is the racial makeup of Powell Middle School?

Students at Powell Middle School are 97% African American, 2% Hispanic.

Rate Powell Middle School!

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Latest Mississippi data All new data »

2025–26 MAAP test scoresAug 21, 2026

2023–24 school spending dataSep 26, 2025

2023–24 through 2024–25 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 26, 2025

2023–24 graduation ratesSep 23, 2025

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