Summary:
Zip code 39328 in De Kalb, Mississippi, is served by one middle school, Kemper County Middle School, a public school in the Kemper County School District that enrolls 191 students in grades 6–8.
As the only middle school in the zip code, Kemper County Middle School carries the full academic profile of its district, and the school’s data is identical to district-level figures. The school is a high-poverty campus where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, yet it maintains a favorable 11:1 student-teacher ratio. Chronic absenteeism is a concern, with 26.2% of students chronically absent in 2023–2024, slightly above the state average of 23.9%. The school’s state ranking has improved, moving from 221st out of 266 schools (17th percentile) in 2024–2025 to 200th out of 260 (23rd percentile) in 2025–2026, though it remains in the bottom quarter of Mississippi middle schools and has earned a 1-star rating each year.
The most encouraging trend is the dramatic improvement in 8th grade performance between 2024–2025 and 2025–2026. Reading proficiency jumped from 9.7% to 26.5%, math from 20.9% to 47%, and science from 20.9% to 49%. The 47% math proficiency is just 4.4 points below the state average of 51.4%, the school’s closest subject-area gap. However, progress is uneven. While 8th grade scores surged, 7th grade math declined sharply from 50% to 41%, and English Language Arts remains a persistent weakness across all grades. In 2025–2026, 6th grade ELA proficiency was 33.4% versus the state’s 48.0%, 7th grade was 23.2% versus 36.7%, and 8th grade was 26.5% versus 40.9%. The school has made meaningful gains, especially in 8th grade, but still trails most Mississippi middle schools, with 6th grade math (30%) and overall literacy representing the clearest opportunities for improvement.
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