The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in Science. The lowest is 35% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Quitman School Dist
Quitman School District covers a stretch of Clarke County in eastern Mississippi, serving students from prekindergarten through twelfth grade across a handful of communities. The district operates four main schools organized by grade bands: a lower elementary, an upper elementary, a junior high, and a high school. It also includes a shared career and technology center and an alternative school. The district is mid-sized for its area, with enrollment spread fairly evenly across grade levels, though the youngest grades are somewhat larger than the upper grades, which is typical for rural Mississippi districts.
The student body is predominantly Black, with a substantial White minority and a very small number of students identifying as multiracial, Hispanic, or American Indian. Free and reduced-price lunch figures were not reported in the data we received, and special population counts for students with individualized education programs or English learners were also missing. Given the district's location in a low-cost rural county, families considering enrollment may want to ask the district directly about supports in these areas, since the data here does not paint that picture.
Academically, the most recent state assessment results tell a clear and consistent story across subjects. In the elementary grades, particularly fourth and fifth, students perform relatively well on the state MAAP test. Math proficiency in those grades is solid, and fifth-grade science stands out as a bright spot. English language arts in third through fifth grade is moderate, with roughly half of fourth graders reaching proficiency. The picture shifts when students move into the junior high. Math proficiency falls sharply in sixth grade and drops further in seventh and eighth, where only a small fraction of students reach proficiency. ELA follows the same downward arc, with middle school results well below the elementary marks. Science in eighth grade lands in a middling range, better than the same grade's math and ELA but below the fifth-grade science result. This pattern of a strong elementary showing followed by a steep middle-school slide is the district's most pressing academic feature. A parent whose child is thriving in the elementary grades would do well to ask the junior high directly what interventions and supports are in place for the transition, since the state results suggest the drop is real and consistent.
No graduation rate, college-readiness, or advanced-coursework data was available for this district, so we cannot speak to how students fare once they reach high school. The presence of a career and technology center suggests vocational and technical pathways are part of the offering, and the alternative school indicates the district serves students who need a nontraditional setting, but the data does not detail what those programs include. A family interested in career-oriented tracks or alternative placement should contact the district for specifics.
Housing in the area is very affordable compared with both the state and national medians. The district-weighted home value sits well below Mississippi's statewide benchmark and far below the national figure, which makes homeownership accessible on a modest income. That said, values have been declining across most of the communities in the district, with several zip codes posting year-over-year drops. One community, Waynesboro, saw an increase, but the overall trend is downward. Rental data was not available. Families moving in will find low barriers to buying but should be aware they are entering a soft local housing market.
We searched for recent district-level changes such as bond measures, property-tax shifts, or curriculum and pedagogy reforms, and found nothing that cleared a lasting-impact threshold. The district appears to be operating in a steady state without major publicized restructuring.
What this district looks like, in plain terms, is a small rural system with genuinely strong elementary results, a career-and-technology component that broadens the pathway beyond a traditional academic track, and housing costs that make living in the district easy to manage. The academic weak point is the middle grades, where proficiency falls off considerably. Families with younger children may find the early years strong. Families with middle-school-aged children should look closely at what the junior high is doing to address the slide the test data shows.
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