Enrollment
329
Middle
DISTRICT 410 · STATE 452
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·COLUMBIA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 280117000151
Jefferson Middle School
611 Owens Street, Columbia, MS 39429 · (601) 736-2786 · Marion County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL329 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 44% of Mississippi public middle schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Mississippi public middle schools
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.0:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
72%
237 students
DISTRICT 72% · STATE 80%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 103 | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 92 | 28% |
| Grade 8 | 134 | 41% |
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Jefferson Middle School→Columbia High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within COLUMBIA SCHOOL DISTRICT. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MAAP 2024-25 . % Proficient + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
44.9%
MS avg 45.9% . +4.1pp since 2023
Math
45.0%
MS avg 52.8% . -12.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the MAAP, Mississippi's statewide test, about 45 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 45 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Mississippi schools, those numbers are about 46 and 53. Reading and writing scores are up about 4 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 13 points.
MAAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 44.9% | 45.0% |
| 2023-24 | 40.8% | 57.8% |
% Proficient + Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: MAAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
48.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
58.2%
based on MS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-9.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 58% typical for Mississippi schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Mississippi's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Jefferson Middle School
Jefferson Middle School's state test result (48.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Middle School this school | 329 | 72.0% | 48.6% |
| North Pike Upper Elementary School Summit | 317 | 71.6% | 53.2% |
| North Pike Junior High Summit | 350 | 69.1% | 44.6% |
| Southeast Middle School Meridian | 371 | 71.2% | 65.0% |
| Amory Middle School Amory | 348 | 70.1% | 61.5% |
| Orange Grove Elementary Gulfport | 346 | 74.9% | 66.0% |
Matched among Mississippi middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Jefferson Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Mississippi |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 48.6% | #83 of 176 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 45.0% | #100 of 181 ▼ 22 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 44.9% | #70 of 181 ▲ 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 329 | #116 of 186 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.1:1 | #35 of 163 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.1% | #42 of 164 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 72.0% | #116 of 184 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.8% | #74 of 119 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
329
-49 (-13%) vs 2020
-30% since 1990-91, when it was 473
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
was 13.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 329 | 27.3 | 12.1:1 | 72% (237) |
| 2023-24 | 357 | 26.3 | 13.6:1 | 100% (357) |
| 2022-23 | 373 | 28.4 | 13.2:1 | 100% (373) |
| 2020-21 | 378 | 28 | 13.5:1 | 99% (375) |
| 2017-18 | 373 | 25.1 | 14.8:1 | 74% (275) |
| 2015-16 | 376 | 28 | 13.4:1 | 77% (288) |
| 2010-11 | 420 | 27 | 15.6:1 | 73% (305) |
| 2000-01 | 408 | 27 | 15.1:1 | 66% (268) |
| 1990-91 | 473 | 27 | 17.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Jefferson Middle School.
About Jefferson Middle School
Jefferson Middle School is a small middle school in Columbia, Mississippi, one of the schools in COLUMBIA SCHOOL DISTRICT. The school's enrollment of 329 students covers grades 6 through 8. Statewide, middle schools in Mississippi average about 452 students each.
Besides Jefferson Middle School, COLUMBIA SCHOOL DISTRICT runs 3 other schools. The district enrolls 1,639 students.
No single group makes up more than half of enrollment at Jefferson Middle School. The largest is White students, at 47%. Other students are 45% Black, 3% multiracial, and 3% Hispanic. That is lower than the 64% White share among all Marion County residents. The school's diversity index is 57%, meaning two students picked at random have a 57% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The school reported 27.3 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 12.1:1. That is 1.6 students per teacher below the 13.7:1 average for middle schools in Mississippi. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 72%. The gap from the 89% average for public schools in Marion County is 17 points.
The allk12 Grade for Jefferson Middle School is C+. Compared with Mississippi public middle schools, the school scored higher than 44% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Jefferson Middle School falls in the middle 80% of Mississippi schools: 48.6% actual against 58.2% predicted.
Census estimates describe Marion County this way: the median household income is $45,110, about 14% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 16%. In all, Marion County has 13 public schools and roughly 3,667 students.
The school nearest to Jefferson Middle School is Columbia Primary School, at a distance of about 0.4 miles. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. By average proficiency, Jefferson Middle School is 5th among 6 schools close by.
Locale data from NCES put Jefferson Middle School in a town some distance from an urbanized area (Town: Distant).
Enrollment is down 13% from 2020-21, when Jefferson Middle School had 378 students, to 2024-25, when it had 329. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio fell to 12.1:1, from 13.5:1.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss school safety, transportation, and start times at Jefferson Middle School. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Marion County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
24,193
Census ACS
Median income
$45,110
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
14%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
13
3,667 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in COLUMBIA SCHOOL DISTRICT
- Columbia High SchoolHigh · 484 students
- Columbia Primary SchoolElementary · 448 students
- Columbia Elementary SchoolElementary · 378 students
Other schools in Columbia
- Columbia High SchoolHigh · 484 students
- Columbia Primary SchoolElementary · 448 students
- Columbia Elementary SchoolElementary · 378 students
- EAST MARION ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 298 students
- EAST MARION HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 216 students
- EAST MARION MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 143 students
Other Jefferson Middle schools
26 other US public schools in 18 states are named Jefferson Middle. Jefferson Middle School is the 24th largest of the 27.
- Jefferson MiddleArlington, VA · 1,120 students
- Jefferson MiddleSan Gabriel, CA · 1,013 students
- Jefferson Middle SchoolJefferson, GA · 1,009 students
- Jefferson Middle SchoolSAINT CLAIR SHORES, MI · 990 students
- Jefferson Middle SchoolSAN ANTONIO, TX · 990 students
Nearby schools
- Columbia Primary School0.4 mi · 448
- Columbia Elementary School0.7 mi · 378
- Columbia High School0.8 mi · 484
- EAST MARION MIDDLE SCHOOL2.9 mi · 143
- EAST MARION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL2.9 mi · 298
- EAST MARION HIGH SCHOOL2.9 mi · 216
Frequently asked questions
About Jefferson Middle SchoolHow many students attend Jefferson Middle School?
Jefferson Middle School enrolls approximately 329 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Jefferson Middle School serve?
Jefferson Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Jefferson Middle School have?
Jefferson Middle School employs 27 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.1:1.
How diverse is Jefferson Middle School?
Jefferson Middle School reports a student body of 47% White, 3% Hispanic, 45% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Jefferson Middle School public or private?
Jefferson Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by COLUMBIA SCHOOL DISTRICT.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.