The top reported proficiency rate is 42% in Science. The lowest is 29% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Laurel School District
Laurel School District serves the community of Laurel in Jones County, Mississippi, covering prekindergarten through twelfth grade across a network of schools organized by grade band. The district includes several elementary schools, among them Nora Davis Elementary, Oak Park Elementary, and Laurel Magnet School of the Arts, which gives families an arts-focused option at the elementary level. Laurel Upper Elementary, Laurel Middle School, and Laurel High School round out the progression, with a separate vocational complex and education center providing additional pathways. Mason Elementary appears in the district's school list as closed, which points to a consolidation or closure at some point, though the data does not specify when or why.
The district's enrollment is moderate for a Mississippi district of this type. Its student body is predominantly Black, with a Hispanic minority that represents a meaningful presence and very small White, multiracial, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian populations. Information on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available, and the same is true for individualized education program counts and English learner counts, so the picture of economic disadvantage and special populations is incomplete. A parent evaluating student support services may want to ask the district directly about these figures.
State assessment results from the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program, covering the current school year, show a mixed academic picture across grade levels. In mathematics, fourth grade stands out as the district's strongest, with nearly half of tested students reaching proficiency. Third, fifth, sixth, and seventh grades fall in a lower-to-mid range, and eighth grade math is the weakest result, with only a small share of students demonstrating proficiency. This drop at eighth grade is a pattern a parent might want to look into further with the school, particularly if a child is approaching the transition into high school coursework.
English language arts results follow a different pattern. Fifth grade is the clear bright spot, with a substantial portion of students proficient. Fourth grade also shows a respectable share. Third, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades sit lower, with roughly a quarter or less of students reaching proficiency in those grades. Science, tested in fifth and eighth grades, shows a stronger fifth grade result and a moderate eighth grade result.
No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability over time. Participation rates were also not reported, which limits how confidently one can read these proficiency figures. The district brief searched for recent parent-relevant changes and found little of lasting impact beyond general district information, so there are no specific program launches, leadership transitions, or facility changes to report from that source.
Housing in the district's zip codes is affordable relative to both Mississippi and national benchmarks. Home values in Laurel proper are lower than the state average and well below the national figure, and recent year-over-year movement has been downward. The nearby Ellisville area shows higher home values with a milder decline. Rental data was not available. The affordability ratio sits below the national level, which means that for families with stable income, homeownership in this district is relatively accessible. Broad unemployment figures are in a moderate range, and national median household income has been trending upward over the past several years, though local income data specific to the district was not provided.
The district does not appear in a neighbor comparison set, so positioning it against surrounding districts in Jones County was not possible from the available data. Civil rights data, course access details, staffing figures, attendance information, and program offerings were all absent, which leaves gaps in understanding what advanced coursework, extracurricular options, or student support structures exist. A family considering this district would benefit from asking directly about AP or dual-credit availability, career and technical education offerings through the vocational complex, arts programming at the magnet school, and what interventions are in place for the grade levels where proficiency is lowest.
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