The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Social studies. The lowest is 27% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Jackson County Middle School
Jackson County Middle School serves grades four through eight in Gainesboro, the county seat of a rural part of Tennessee. The town itself is small, with a historic downtown centered on a courthouse square listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the local economy is anchored by county government and agriculture. The school is part of the Jackson County district, which is the only school system in the county, so comparisons the data would normally allow against other districts in the same county do not apply here; with only one district, there is no basis for a side-by-side positioning.
The school’s enrollment is on the smaller side for a middle-school grade band, and the student body is overwhelmingly white, with Hispanic and two-or-more-races students making up modest shares, and even smaller numbers of Black, Asian, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, on students with disabilities, and on English learners were all missing from the available records, so a full picture of economic and special-education need is not possible to draw from this information alone.
State testing results are available and show a mixed picture. In English language arts, just over a third of students scored at the proficient level or above on the TNReady assessment. In math, the share was lower, around a quarter of students. Science proficiency came in notably higher, at nearly half of students, and social studies also reached around half. These are the most recent results, from a single school year, and they represent a point-in-time snapshot. Participation rates were very high, meaning the results reflect nearly the entire tested population. A parent may want to ask the school directly about trends over time, since multi-year data was not reported here.
The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and no information was provided about Title I status, disciplinary patterns, course offerings, or staffing ratios. Because this is a middle school ending at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report; that metric applies to high schools only. Similarly, the data did not include chronic absenteeism or attendance figures.
Housing in the area is moderately priced relative to national benchmarks, with home values below both the state and national averages. The estimated monthly mortgage payment for a typical home, assuming a standard down payment, is roughly comparable to what a renter would pay for a modest apartment, based on local rent-to-income calculations. This suggests the area is not under the same kind of affordability pressure seen in larger metropolitan markets.
The district brief turned up little in the way of recent school-system-specific changes or strategic priorities, so what is presented here is drawn from the school-level data and the town’s known characteristics. The school sits in a slow-growth rural county seat where community leaders have publicly expressed interest in downtown reinvestment, but no major new housing or commercial developments were highlighted in available sources. For a family considering this school, the core question is whether the academic proficiency levels, particularly in math and reading, meet their expectations. The school’s science and social studies results are a relative bright spot, and the small size of the school may appeal to families who want a setting where students are not lost in a large cohort. The missing data on economic disadvantage and special populations means a parent should ask the school directly about the support systems in place for students who need extra help.
See more original research from School Decision →