Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 39429

In zip code 39429 (Columbia, Mississippi), there are two public middle schools serving grades 6–8: Jefferson Middle School in the Columbia School District and East Marion Middle School in the Marion County School District. Jefferson is the stronger school by nearly every academic measure, ranking 131st out of 260 Mississippi middle schools (50th percentile) versus East Marion’s 207th (20th percentile). Jefferson has higher proficiency in every subject, including a 44.2% all-subject average compared to East Marion’s 33.4%, and also offers a better student–teacher ratio (12:1 vs. 15.1:1).

Poverty levels are high at both schools, but especially at East Marion, where 97.9% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch versus 72.0% at Jefferson. That economic gap closely tracks the achievement gap between the two schools: Jefferson leads by about 10 points in ELA, 13 points in math, and 7 points in 8th grade science. Even so, Jefferson’s performance is only middling statewide, and its district rating is stronger than its school-level rank suggests. Its 4-star district ranks in the 77th percentile, but the school itself sits at the 50th percentile, indicating Jefferson may be a weaker link within an otherwise solid district. Meanwhile, East Marion lags the state by wide margins in most subjects, with 7th grade math a staggering 25.2 points behind the state average, and its 8th grade math proficiency (29.6%) is far below the Marion County district average of 56%.

A major red flag for Jefferson is chronic absenteeism: 42.0% of students are chronically absent, nearly double the state (23.9%) and district (24.2%) averages. Jefferson’s state rank has also slipped gradually over the past three years, from 119th to 131st, while its star rating dropped from 3 to 2 stars. On a positive note, Jefferson showed sharp gains in 8th grade math (+12.2 points) and science (+5.4 points) in the latest year, though ELA declined slightly across grades. For parents, Jefferson is the clear academic choice in this zip code, but attendance concerns and a downward trend warrant attention. East Marion faces much bigger challenges tied to near-universal poverty and bottom-fifth statewide performance, making it a school that likely needs significant support.