Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 38829

Zip code 38829 in Booneville, Mississippi, is home to just one middle school, R.H. Long Booneville Middle School, which serves grades 5 through 8 with an enrollment of 416 students. The school belongs to the highly regarded Booneville School District, which ranks 22nd out of 134 districts in Mississippi and holds a 4-star rating. The school itself has a fluctuating record, earning 3 stars in 2023–2024, jumping to 4 stars in 2024–2025 with a rank of 58th in the state, then slipping back to 3 stars and 83rd place in 2025–2026. While it consistently outperforms the statewide median, it has not yet reached the top tier of Mississippi middle schools.

Academically, R.H. Long Booneville Middle School generally exceeds state proficiency averages across most subjects and grades. In the most recent 2025–2026 school year, 5th grade math stands out as a major strength with 65.6% proficiency, 16 points above the state average, and 8th grade ELA also shines at 50.9% proficiency, 10 points higher than the state. Science results are solid, with 5th grade at 76.6% and 8th grade at 59.3%, both above state averages. The main areas of concern are 6th grade ELA (45.4% versus 48.0% statewide) and 8th grade math (49.2% versus 51.4% statewide), though both are close to the state average. Notably, the school reports a chronic absenteeism rate of just 12.2%, far better than the district’s 15.5% and the state’s 23.9%, indicating strong attendance despite nearly two-thirds of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.

Comparing year-over-year results, the 2024–2025 school year was a clear peak, especially for 8th grade, where ELA proficiency hit 59.4% (+17.7 points versus state) and science reached 74.2% (+19.5 points versus state). However, the 2025–2026 school year saw broad declines in most tested areas, including a 14.9-point drop in 8th grade science and consistent losses across ELA grades. Only 7th grade math and 5th grade science improved. These declines help explain the school’s fall in state ranking and star rating. Overall, R.H. Long Booneville Middle School remains a solid, above-average school with clear strengths in 5th grade math and 8th grade ELA, but the recent downward trend highlights the need to stabilize achievement, particularly in 6th grade ELA and 8th grade math.