The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in Science. The lowest is 10% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Powell Middle School
Powell Middle School sits on Livingston Road in Jackson, serving grades six through eight as part of Jackson Public School District. The school serves a predominantly Black student body, with nearly all students identifying as such. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the concentrated economic disadvantage in the surrounding neighborhood.
The housing market around the school tells its own story. Home values in this zip code sit far below the state benchmark and well below national levels, making it one of the most affordable housing markets a family will find. Rents are similarly modest. For families where housing cost is the primary constraint, this area offers genuine accessibility. The low values also reflect decades of disinvestment and population loss that have reshaped Jackson's core neighborhoods.
Jackson itself is Mississippi's capital and largest city, a sprawling, auto-dependent place spread across a large land area on the Pearl River. The city functions as a regional crossroads at the intersection of major interstate highways. State government, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and a Nissan manufacturing plant anchor the local economy. Jackson State University and Millsaps College add educational and cultural presence. The city has faced hard years, including a severe water crisis when its largest treatment facility failed, and a population decline that was the steepest of any major American city over the past decade. Development pressure has shifted toward suburban areas in Madison and Rankin counties. Within this context, Jackson Public Schools operate throughout the city, and the district has recently adopted a strategic plan covering the next several years that will shape curriculum, instruction, and resource allocation.
At Powell, state assessment results from the MAAP show a consistent pattern across subjects. In math, proficiency is low at each grade level and declines steadily from sixth through eighth grade. Sixth-grade math shows the strongest result within the subject, but even that falls well below what most families would hope to see. By eighth grade, the share of students reaching proficiency in math is very small. English language arts follows a similar arc, with proficiency rates that are low at each grade level and dip in seventh grade before a partial rebound in eighth. Eighth-grade science shows a somewhat higher proficiency rate than the other subjects, though it remains modest.
These results are reported for all students combined. Participation rates were not available, so it is not possible to confirm how fully the student body was represented in testing. IEP and English Learner counts were not reported, leaving the picture of special populations incomplete. A parent may want to ask the school directly about how it supports students working below grade level, what intervention and tutoring structures exist, and how the school is responding to the decline in proficiency from sixth through eighth grade. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not clear whether these results represent a steady state, improvement, or further decline.
Several categories of information parents often rely on were not available. There is no data on course access, staffing ratios, attendance patterns, or discipline. The school's Title I status was not reported. No magnet or special program designation appears in the data. Programs offered beyond the standard curriculum are not listed. No comparison fact-set was available to position Powell against other schools in the county or district. Because Powell serves only middle school grades, no graduation rate applies to this school.
What the available data describes is a middle school serving a community facing concentrated poverty in a city navigating serious structural challenges. The academic results are low across subjects and grades. Families considering Powell would benefit from direct conversations with school leadership about instructional approach, available student supports, and how the school plans to use the district's new strategic framework to improve outcomes. The surrounding neighborhood offers very affordable housing, but the broader context of Jackson's population loss and infrastructure strain is part of the picture a family should weigh.
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