The top reported proficiency rate is 78% in Science. The lowest is 47% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Gary Road Intermediate School
Gary Road Intermediate School sits in Byram, a primarily residential suburb directly south of Jackson along Interstate 55. The school serves grades three through five and operates within the Hinds County School District. Byram itself is an auto-dependent community without a traditional downtown, with civic life clustered around City Hall on Terry Road and commercial activity concentrated along the same corridor and near interstate exits. The city grew rapidly during the 2000s as families moved outward from Jackson, though growth has slowed and recent estimates suggest a slight population decline.
The school enrolls a sizable student body for a three-grade intermediate school. Its enrollment is predominantly Black, with small numbers of white, Hispanic, multiracial, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so those populations cannot be characterized here. The school is a traditional public school, not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status was not reported in the data provided.
On state assessments, Gary Road Intermediate shows a mixed but generally solid academic picture. In mathematics, roughly half of third and fifth graders reached proficiency, with the fourth grade landing somewhat lower. English language arts results follow an upward trajectory across the three grades, with third grade showing the lowest proficiency and fifth grade the highest. The strongest result by far comes in fifth-grade science, where a large majority of tested students demonstrated proficiency. This science performance stands out as a clear strength. Participation rates were not reported for any subject or grade.
No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability over time. The data covers a single school year. Parents wanting to understand whether performance is moving in a particular direction would need to look into that with the school or district directly.
The school has no graduation rate, no Advanced Placement or dual-credit coursework, and no career pathway data. This is expected for a school serving only grades three through five. Those measures apply to secondary schools. What the data does cover is state testing in the core subjects Mississippi assesses at these grade levels.
Byram's housing market offers a more affordable entry point than the national picture. Typical home values in the school's zip code sit below the national benchmark and moderately above the state benchmark, with modest year-over-year appreciation. Rents are affordable relative to typical incomes. The price-to-income ratio sits below what many markets carry, meaning homeownership is within reach for more households than in much of the country. Mortgage rates hover in the mid-six-percent range as of the most recent reporting. The broader economic context shows a stable unemployment rate and rising median household income nationally over the past several years.
The Hinds County School District's recent changes were searched but little of lasting impact was found, so this narrative does not include district-level developments. No information on school programs, extracurricular offerings, discipline data, staffing levels, or attendance rates was available in the provided data. These are gaps a parent may want to ask about directly.
Byram's setting is suburban and residential. The city incorporated relatively recently after a long legal battle with Jackson over annexation. Its schools sit on separate campuses, with Gary Road Elementary feeding into the intermediate school, then Byram Middle School, and eventually Terry High School in the neighboring town of Terry. The Pearl River flows just east of the city limits. No specific parks or transit systems were identified in publicly reported sources. For families, this means a quieter suburban lifestyle with reliance on personal vehicles, proximity to Jackson for employment and amenities, and a school that sits within a community still establishing some of its civic institutions.
Gary Road Intermediate appears to be a school where science instruction is producing strong outcomes and where literacy results build across the intermediate grades. Math performance is steady if unspectacular. The school serves a community where housing is relatively affordable and where the suburban setting appeals to families looking for residential space near the capital city. Parents weighing this school would benefit from asking about trend data, special population services, and program offerings beyond what state testing captures.
See more original research from School Decision →