The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in English language arts. The lowest is 58% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Back Bay Elementary School
Back Bay Elementary School sits in Biloxi, a Gulf Coast city shaped by several forces that give it a distinct identity among Mississippi communities. The city blends residential neighborhoods with a casino-and-tourism corridor along U.S. Highway 90, a downtown historic district with late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century architecture, and Keesler Air Force Base, which has anchored the local economy since World War II. Keesler's presence means military families cycle through the area, and that influences the student population at schools across the Biloxi Public School District. The city retains its seafood-industry heritage through the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum and the annual Blessing of the Fleet. Hurricane Katrina devastated the coast, and the rebuilding that followed reshaped Biloxi's commercial and residential landscape. Publicly reported data indicates the city's population has declined modestly in recent years.
Back Bay serves kindergarten through fourth grade and has a mid-sized enrollment for an elementary school. The student body is diverse, with Black and white students each making up roughly a third of the population and Hispanic students and students of two or more races each accounting for a smaller but solid share. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the economic mix of the surrounding community. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available, so those pieces of the picture are missing here.
On the most recent Mississippi Academic Assessment Program results, Back Bay's proficiency rates in both math and English language arts sit above the halfway mark for third and fourth graders. Math proficiency rises from third grade to fourth grade, and English language arts holds steady across the two tested grades. These results suggest most students are meeting or exceeding state proficiency standards, with fourth-grade math the strongest showing. Average scale scores are reported alongside the proficiency rates and are consistent with that pattern. Participation rates were not reported. Science proficiency data exists only for fifth grade from an earlier testing period and is suppressed, and because Back Bay now stops at fourth grade, science results do not apply to the current grade configuration. No trend data across multiple years was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, stability, or decline over time.
Because Back Bay is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report. The school is a traditional public school within Biloxi Public School District, not a charter or magnet school. Information on Title I status, discipline data, course access, staffing ratios, and attendance was not provided, so those dimensions of the school environment could not be assessed. Program offerings were also not available in the data reviewed.
Housing in the school's zip code is moderately priced relative to the national market but sits slightly above the Mississippi state benchmark. Home values have appreciated modestly year over year, and rents have risen at a similar pace. The estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home in the area is close to the typical rent, making the cost of owning versus renting roughly comparable for families considering a move into the attendance zone. The broader economic context includes a national unemployment rate that has held steady and a thirty-year mortgage rate that has fluctuated within a narrow band in recent months.
The district brief for Biloxi Public School District did not surface any parent-relevant changes such as referendums, curriculum shifts, or facility plans with lasting impact. This does not mean nothing is happening at the district level, only that publicly available searches did not capture it.
For a family evaluating Back Bay, the school offers solid state assessment results in the tested elementary grades, a diverse peer group, and a location in a city with a layered identity shaped by military, tourism, and coastal heritage. The missing pieces on staffing, discipline, programs, and special populations mean a parent may want to look into those areas directly with the school. The academic results that are available paint a picture of a school where most tested students are reaching proficiency, with room to grow in the share that exceeds it.
See more original research from School Decision →