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Jackson Central Merry Middle School

Public Grades 6-8

573^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 594 Tennessee Middle Schools

Better than 4% of Tennessee middle schools

Summary

Jackson Central Merry Middle School is a grades 6–8 school in Jackson, TN, serving 463 students as part of Jackson-Madison County Schools. Academically, the school ranks near the very bottom of Tennessee middle schools, with proficiency rates in 2025–2026 of just 6.5% in math, 8.5% in English language arts, 7.4% in science, and 15.0% in social studies — all far below district and state averages. Nearby schools perform dramatically better: South Gibson County Middle School posts math proficiency above 62%, and Chester County Junior High School exceeds 44%, while even same-district peers like Northeast Middle School and West-Bemis Middle School are 20–30 points higher in every subject.

Chronic absenteeism is the most striking risk factor. In 2024–2025, 48.0% of Jackson Central Merry students were chronically absent — nearly half missing enough school to jeopardize learning. That rate has nearly doubled in two years, from 25.1% in 2022–2023, and is far above the district's 28.2% and the state's 18.3%. By comparison, North Parkway Middle School has a 34.3% rate, Jackson Career Technology Magnet Elementary School 29.0%, and South Gibson County Middle School just 7.1%. This pattern suggests that getting students to school consistently is a fundamental challenge the school must address before academic gains can take hold.

Additional differences set Jackson Central Merry apart. The school spends $11,055 per student — less than every other same-district middle school, despite having the lowest outcomes. It also reports no Algebra I results, while Northeast Middle School shows 92% proficiency among 8th graders taking that advanced math course. The one bright spot is 8th-grade social studies, where 25.4% of students scored proficient, more than three times the school's 7th-grade science rate. Still, every student subgroup at Jackson Central Merry ranks near the bottom statewide, and the gap with nearby districts like Chester County Schools and Gibson County Special School District remains enormous. For parents considering this school, the combination of very low achievement, rising absenteeism, and limited advanced course access presents serious concerns.

463

Students ?

15.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,055

Per pupil spending ?

332 Lane Avenue
Jackson, TN 38301

(731) 664-2588

District: Jackson-Madison County Schools

Racial breakdown:

African American:

67.2%

Hispanic:

21.2%

Two or more races:

6.7%

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 4th percentile in 2023 → 4th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Tennessee average (9% vs 45% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (4th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (48% vs 18% Tennessee)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school9%

District avg28%

Tennessee avg45%

573^rd of 594

Tennessee public middle schools ?

Bottom 4%▼ down 1 pts since 2023

See the entire ranking list of Tennessee Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 5Middle Schools in the Jackson-Madison County Schools

134^th of 141Jackson-Madison County Schools among Tennessee 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	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	6.3	573 of 594	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	5.3	574 of 583	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.2	564 of 587	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.6	569 of 594	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	16.0	301 of 328	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	11.7	303 of 312	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.8	297 of 318	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.8	302 of 316	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	6.8	530 of 546	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.9	521 of 554	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.9	548 of 560	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	8.1	300 of 302	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	9.4	282 of 286	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.9	272 of 285	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.5	266 of 285	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	15.1	450 of 478	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	9.3	483 of 490	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.0	493 of 510	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.8	492 of 514	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	4.0	546 of 550	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.2	536 of 560	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.6	534 of 557	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2026)8th percentile+5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)6th percentile~ school

Female (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Male (2025)1st percentile~ school

Hispanic (2026)1st percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs Tennessee (2025-2026) ?

Social Studies15%-36 vs state

English Language Arts8%-32 vs state

Science7%-40 vs state

Mathematics6%-36 vs state

★

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Schools Near Jackson Central Merry 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)				TNReady Mathematics (2026)					TNReady English Language Arts (2026)					TNReady Algebra I (2026)		TNReady Science (2026)					TNReady Social Studies (2026)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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 (2016)	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	TNReady Mathematics 5th Grade	TNReady Mathematics 6th Grade	TNReady Mathematics 7th Grade	TNReady Mathematics 8th Grade	TNReady Mathematics All Grades	TNReady English Language Arts 5th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts 6th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts 7th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts 8th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts All Grades	TNReady Algebra I 8th Grade	TNReady Algebra I All Grades	TNReady Science 5th Grade	TNReady Science 6th Grade	TNReady Science 7th Grade	TNReady Science 8th Grade	TNReady Science All Grades	TNReady Social Studies 6th Grade	TNReady Social Studies 7th Grade	TNReady Social Studies 8th Grade	TNReady Social Studies All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Jackson Central Merry Middle School	Public	6-8	332 Lane Avenue	Jackson	38301	Madison County	Jackson-Madison County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(731) 664-2588	391	25	15.7		19 (4.9%)	290 (74.2%)	59 (15.1%)	3 (0.8%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (4.3%)	6.3	573^rd of 594 public middle schools	3.5%		5.3	574^th of 583 public middle schools	1.5%	1				13.6	6.5		5.7	8.9	10.2	8.5					5.5	11.9	7.4	6.7	11.6	25.4	15.0	$11,055	$1,440	$9,454
Jackson Career Technology Magnet Elementary School	Public, Magnet	4-8	668 Lexington Avenue	Jackson	38305	Madison County	Jackson-Madison County Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(731) 427-4581	411	30	13.7	92.1%	20 (4.9%)	350 (85.2%)	19 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (5.4%)	8.2	557^th of 594 public middle schools	6.2%		10	534^th of 583 public middle schools	8.4%	23	13.3	6.8	7.4		8.4	9.2	10.2	12.2	9.1	10.2			12.4	14.8	15.9	21.5	15.7	11.4	26.8	28.8	21.6	$13,968	$2,054	$11,754
North Parkway Middle School	Public	6-8	1341 North Parkway	Jackson	38305	Madison County	Jackson-Madison County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(731) 427-3384	333	21	16.2	73.8%	17 (5.1%)	265 (79.6%)	30 (9.0%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.7%)	10.1	547^th of 594 public middle schools	7.9%		8.6	552^nd of 583 public middle schools	5.3%	5		22.1	6.8	16.1	14.5		6.3	12.8	16.1	12.0				12.8	13.8	20.5	15.8	12.8	30.8	18.8	21.4	$14,959	$1,830	$12,238
West-Bemis Middle School	Public	6-8	230 D Street	Jackson	38301	Madison County	Jackson-Madison County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(731) 988-9810	384	26	15.0	63.0%	209 (54.4%)	111 (28.9%)	38 (9.9%)	4 (1.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.5%)	31.8	425^th of 594 public middle schools	28.5%		38.7	363^rd of 583 public middle schools	37.7%	62		28.2	33.3	26.1	29.1		30.5	29.7	23.5	28.0				27.5	29.7	42.0	33.0	26.0	35.1	39.5	33.2	$13,912	$1,527	$11,454
Northeast Middle School	Public	6-8	2665 Christmasville Road	Jackson	38305	Madison County	Jackson-Madison County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(731) 422-6687	794	51	15.5	66.2%	172 (21.7%)	432 (54.4%)	124 (15.6%)	17 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (6.2%)	39.2	373^rd of 594 public middle schools	37.2%		38.9	361^st of 583 public middle schools	38.1%	12		40.0	28.6	33.2	33.7		31.7	29.8	30.0	30.4	92.0	92.0		41.5	39.0	17.0	33.2	33.7	43.0	40.8	39.4	$12,454	$1,178	$10,478
South Gibson County Middle School	Public	5-8	1300 Middle School Street	Medina	38355	Gibson County	Gibson County Special School District	No	No	No	No	(731) 783-1962	772	40	19.4	13.6%	662 (85.8%)	54 (7.0%)	24 (3.1%)	14 (1.8%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	15 (1.9%)	91.4	38^th of 594 public middle schools	93.6%		93.4	29^th of 583 public middle schools	95.0%	9	73.5	54.3	53.7	67.3	62.2	69.0	55.0	51.8	52.4	56.8			74.9	73.8	71.3	74.3	73.6	81.6	75.0	78.6	78.6	$9,834	$370	$8,828
Chester County Junior High School	Public	6-8	930 East Main Street	Henderson	38340	Chester County	Chester County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(731) 989-8135	604	33	18.5	48.4%	471 (78.0%)	77 (12.7%)	28 (4.6%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (4.1%)	63.2	195^th of 594 public middle schools	67.2%		52.8	249^th of 583 public middle schools	57.3%	54		64.1	38.2	29.8	44.7		47.7	39.3	29.7	39.3				55.8	59.9	35.9	51.0	52.1	66.0	40.8	53.4	$8,997	$463	$8,003

Frequently Asked Questions about Jackson Central Merry Middle School

Is Jackson Central Merry Middle School a good school?

Jackson Central Merry Middle School ranks in the bottom 3.5% of Tennessee middle schools.

How many students attend Jackson Central Merry Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 463 students attended Jackson Central Merry Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Jackson Central Merry Middle School?

Students at Jackson Central Merry Middle School are 67% African American, 21% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 4% White.

What district is Jackson Central Merry Middle School in?

Jackson-Madison County Schools

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Latest Tennessee data All new data »

2025–26 TNReady test scoresNewAug 25, 2026

2024–25 dropout ratesApr 2, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataFeb 27, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataDec 18, 2025

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