The top reported proficiency rate is 73% in Science. The lowest is 52% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Stone Middle School
Stone Middle School sits in Wiggins, the small rural county seat of Stone County, Mississippi. It is part of the Stone County School District and serves grades six through eight. The enrollment is moderate for a middle school in this part of the state, with students distributed fairly evenly across the three grade levels plus a small handful of ungraded students.
The student body is predominantly white, with a Black enrollment that represents a meaningful minority of the school. A small share of students identify as two or more races, and Hispanic and American Indian students each make up a sliver of the population. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the broader economic conditions in the Wiggins area. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available, so those population sizes remain unknown.
On Mississippi's MAAP assessments for the most recent school year, Stone Middle's math results stand out as a clear strength. Sixth-grade math proficiency is high, seventh grade remains strong, and eighth grade dips but still shows a solid majority of students reaching proficiency. Science proficiency among eighth graders is also strong. English language arts results are more modest, hovering around the midpoint across all three grades, with roughly half of students meeting proficiency in each. The pattern suggests a school where math instruction is producing consistently above-average outcomes for a rural Mississippi middle school, while literacy is an area where a parent may want to look into how the school supports reading growth from sixth through eighth grade. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results are improving, holding, or slipping over time.
Because Stone Middle serves only middle school grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and the absence of that metric simply reflects the grade band rather than any gap in performance. Similarly, no discipline, course access, staffing, or attendance data was provided. Civil rights data and a neighbor comparison fact-set were also absent, so those dimensions of the school environment could not be assessed here.
Wiggins itself is a slowly growing rural city within the Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area. It retains a small-town character despite its metro affiliation. The town's history is tied to the timber industry, rooted in the legacy of the Finkbine Lumber Company, and timber-related businesses still sustain parts of the local economy. Wiggins was once known for hosting what was reportedly the world's largest pickle processing facility, though that operation has since closed. The built environment is low-density and car-dependent, with a traditional downtown core around First Street where City Hall sits. Highway 49 runs through the area, connecting Wiggins to the broader Gulf Coast region. Flint Creek Water Park sits near the city, and the community hosts the Pine Hill Festival each spring.
The housing market in the Wiggins zip code is affordable relative to both Mississippi and the nation. Typical home values sit below the state benchmark and well below national levels, with a price-to-income ratio that suggests buying a home here is within reach for many working families. Home values have edged down slightly over the past year, while the state and national benchmarks have held roughly flat or ticked upward. Rental data was not available for this location.
The Stone County School District is investing in facilities. A new career and technical education building opened in the district in August 2024, expanding vocational and technical pathways for students, and a new high school is under construction with plans to open in 2026. At the elementary level, Stone Elementary expanded its art program through a Mississippi Whole Schools grant. These investments point to a district actively building out its academic and facilities infrastructure, which could shape the experience of students now at Stone Middle as they move into high school.
For a family considering Stone Middle School, the academic picture centers on strong math and science outcomes alongside mid-range literacy results. The community is rural and affordable, with slow but steady growth and a working-class economic base. The district's recent facility investments suggest attention to long-term educational capacity, though the middle school itself would benefit from a closer look at how it supports students in reading and writing across all three grades.
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