The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in Science. The lowest is 23% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Quitman Jr High School
Quitman Jr High School sits in the small rural county seat of Clarke County, Mississippi, serving grades six through eight as part of the Quitman School District. The town of Quitman has a traditional courthouse-square downtown anchored by the Clarke County Courthouse, with the Chickasawhay River running nearby and Mississippi Highway 18 passing through its center. The community has seen steady population decline over decades, with no major housing developments or commercial growth initiatives publicly reported. This is a town in contraction rather than expansion, and that context shapes the school environment.
The school itself serves a modest enrollment for a junior high grade band, with each grade level roughly similar in size and a small ungraded component. Every student in the building qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the broader economic conditions of the community. The student body is predominantly Black, with a substantial white minority and a very small number of students identifying as two or more races. There is almost no Hispanic or Asian representation. Data on special education and English learner populations was not reported, so those figures cannot be characterized here.
On Mississippi's MAAP assessments for the most recent school year, proficiency results show a clear pattern: performance is strongest in the earliest grade and weakest in eighth grade, across both math and English language arts. Sixth-grade math has the highest proficiency rate among the reported results, with roughly a third of tested students scoring proficient or above. Seventh-grade math proficiency drops below a quarter, and eighth-grade math falls further, with fewer than one in five students reaching proficiency. English language arts follows a similar arc. Sixth and seventh grade hover around a quarter of students proficient, and eighth grade dips to about a fifth. Science, tested only in eighth grade, shows a brighter spot, with about two-fifths of students scoring proficient or above. Participation rates were listed as missing for all assessments, so it is not possible to characterize how completely the student body was tested. Average scale scores are reported but cannot be used here to position the school against state norms.
A parent reading these results would see a school where a meaningful share of students are reaching proficiency in the younger grades and in science, but where math and ELA outcomes thin out as students move toward high school. The decline from sixth to eighth grade in both core subjects is a pattern a family may want to look into further with the school, to understand what happens instructionally between those years and what support structures are in place for students who fall behind.
The housing market around Quitman is inexpensive relative to both state and national benchmarks. Typical home values in the school's zip code sit well below the Mississippi statewide figure and far below the national figure, and the year-over-year trend shows a decline in local values against modest state and national gains. For families already in the area, housing affordability is not much of a barrier. For those considering moving in, the low cost of entry comes with a community that is losing population and has limited commercial or civic growth on the horizon. No information was available on local rent levels. Median household income figures at the national level were provided, but local income data beyond what the locale brief references was thin.
Beyond assessment data and basic demographics, the picture of this school is limited. No program offerings were reported. No discipline, course-access, staffing, or attendance data was provided. Title I status and school type were not listed, though the universal free-or-reduced-price-lunch rate strongly suggests the school operates under community eligibility. The district brief returned no parent-relevant changes such as referenda, tax shifts, or curriculum moves. A parent wanting to understand what happens inside the classroom beyond test scores would need to contact the school directly, because the available data does not speak to it.
What the data does say is this: Quitman Jr High is a small, entirely economically disadvantaged middle school in a quiet, declining rural county seat, with mixed assessment results that tilt toward the lower end in the upper grades and show a relative strength in eighth-grade science. It serves a community where housing is cheap and civic life centers on a traditional downtown square, but where growth is not part of the current story. For a family rooted in Quitman, it is the local option, and the question worth bringing to school leaders is how the school plans to strengthen the academic trajectory from sixth through eighth grade.
See more original research from School Decision →