Summary:
There is just one middle school in ZIP code 38858: Nettleton Junior High, serving grades 6–8 with 243 students in the Nettleton School District. This rural Mississippi school is rated 2 out of 5 stars and ranks 155th out of 260 middle schools statewide, placing it in the 40th percentile for the 2025–2026 school year.
Nettleton Junior High’s biggest academic strength is math, especially in 6th grade, where 61.1% of students are proficient—8.4 points above the state average. The 7th grade also performs essentially at or above state averages in both ELA and math. However, the current 8th-grade class is a major concern. Their ELA proficiency is just 14.5%, which is 26.4 points below the state, and their math proficiency dropped from 33.9% in 7th grade to 27.6% in 8th grade. Overall, the school’s average math proficiency (48.8%) is far stronger than its ELA proficiency (28.4%), a 20.4-point gap that points to ELA instruction as a key area for improvement.
Context matters here: 80.66% of students receive free or reduced lunch, and chronic absenteeism runs at 23.7%, meaning nearly one in four students is missing significant school time. While the Nettleton School District overall earns 3 stars and ranks in the 55th percentile of Mississippi districts, the junior high itself sits at 2 stars and the 40th percentile, suggesting the middle school may be pulling the district’s rating down. On a positive note, the school has improved its state ranking over time, moving from the 37th percentile in 2018–2019 to the 40th percentile today, even though its star rating has stayed at 2. For parents, this means a school with real strengths in 6th-grade math and 7th-grade performance, but with a current 8th-grade cohort that needs urgent support.
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