The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in Science. The lowest is 43% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Rawls Springs Attendance Center
Rawls Springs Attendance Center is a small elementary and middle school serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade on the outskirts of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It belongs to the Forrest County School District, one of two public systems operating in the city, and it carries the feel of a rural community school sitting just beyond the commercial and institutional density of Hattiesburg proper. The campus sits on Archie Smith Road, and the surrounding area blends residential tracts with open land, a setting that is auto-oriented like most of the Hattiesburg metro but quieter than the corridors along US 49 or Interstate 59.
The school serves a modest enrollment spread across its grade bands. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting the economic profile of the communities feeding into the Forrest County district. The student body is majority Black or African American, with White, Asian, multiracial, and Hispanic students rounding out the population. This gives children a peer environment that is diverse within a rural southern context. We looked for data on English learners and students with individualized education programs, but the state did not report those figures for this school, so there is no way to characterize those populations here.
Academic results on the 2024-25 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program show a pattern that swings sharply by grade level. Third and fourth grade math results are strong, with the fourth grade in particular showing a high proficiency rate. Science proficiency in fifth grade is also well above what one might expect. The picture changes as students move up. Fifth grade math proficiency drops considerably, and sixth grade results in both math and English language arts are weak, with only a small fraction of tested students reaching proficiency. The sixth grade ELA result is especially low. These tested groups are small, so results can move meaningfully from year to year, but the downward trend in the upper grades is clear enough that a parent with a child entering fifth or sixth grade may want to look into this further with the school and ask how instruction and support change as students approach the transition to secondary schooling.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate, no ACT or college-readiness data, and no advanced course or career-pathway information to report. Program offerings, course access, staffing ratios, discipline data, and attendance figures were not available in the records we reviewed, so we left those out rather than guess.
Hattiesburg itself gives the school a larger context that matters for families. The city is the principal hub of the Pine Belt region, home to the University of Southern Mississippi and William Carey University, and it carries a strong military presence through Camp Shelby to the south. Publicly reported sources describe Hattiesburg as historically a railroad and lumber town that earned the nickname "Hub City" for its position at the crossing of major highways and rail lines. The downtown has a recognized historic district with Victorian-era architecture, and cultural sites include a Civil Rights trail and the African American Military History Museum. The economy leans heavily on hospitals, the universities, Camp Shelby, and branches of national manufacturers, making the institutional and public sector the dominant employment base.
The housing market around the school sits in a middle zone. Home values in the school's zip code run above the Mississippi state benchmark but below the national figure, and rents are moderate. The price-to-income ratio is favorable by national standards, and renting remains cheaper than carrying a mortgage at current rates. The metro area saw growth pressure after Hurricane Katrina and has continued to develop, with the city describing itself on a forward trajectory, though specific new construction near the school was not detailed in available sources.
We searched for recent parent-relevant changes in the Forrest County School District, including bond issues, curriculum shifts, facility updates, and property tax moves, but found no documented developments with lasting impact in the material available.
For a family weighing Rawls Springs, the school offers a small, community-scale setting with encouraging early-grade results and solid science performance. The upper-grade slide in math and reading is the area that warrants the most attention. A parent would do well to visit, ask about what changes in instruction and intervention happen between fourth and sixth grade, and see for themselves whether the school's approach fits their child.
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