The top reported proficiency rate is 68% in English language arts. The lowest is 44% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Kemper County Lower Elementary
Kemper County Lower Elementary sits on Binnsville Road in Scooba, Mississippi, serving pre-kindergarten through third grade. It is part of the Kemper County School District, the sole public district for the county. The school is small for its grade band, and its student body is predominantly Black. Every enrolled student qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which speaks to the level of economic need in the surrounding community.
Scooba itself is a small, rural town in Kemper County. Its most prominent institution is East Mississippi Community College, whose main campus and administrative headquarters sit directly in town and serve as the dominant local employer. The town lies along U.S. Highway 45 and Mississippi Highway 16, with a railroad line running through. The built environment is low-density residential and institutional, typical of rural Mississippi, and walkability is limited. A compact civic center sits around Edward E. Nave Drive, where the town hall and post office stand side by side. No public parks or a standalone library were identified in publicly available sources for Scooba itself. The town has been experiencing population decline, with no major new housing developments or commercial growth projects identified. The median age is young, likely influenced by the community college student presence.
Academic data for the school comes from the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program, known as MAAP, and covers only third grade, since that is the earliest grade the state tests. In English language arts, a clear majority of third graders reached proficiency. In math, fewer than half did. Participation rate data was not reported. No multi-year trend information was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement or decline from prior years. The ELA result is a genuine strength. The math result is softer, and a parent may want to look into what support the school provides for early math instruction.
Several data categories that would help round out the picture are absent. No IEP or English learner counts were reported. No civil rights data, discipline data, staffing information, course access details, or attendance figures were available. No programs data was provided. The school's locale classification and community economic context were not included in the structured data. These gaps mean the portrait here relies on assessment results and the locale research for Scooba.
Families should be aware of a major district-level change. Publicly reported information indicates that the Kemper County School District consolidated several former elementary schools, including Kemper County Lower Elementary, into a new Kemper County Elementary School in De Kalb, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Construction was scheduled for completion, with the school opening the following spring. The new facility includes a multipurpose room and a storm shelter. This reorganization changes school assignments and attendance zones across the county. The school's own data still shows it as open with current-year assessment results, so parents should confirm directly with the district whether this consolidation has affected enrollment at the Binnsville Road campus for the upcoming year.
What this school offers, based on the available data, is an early-childhood through primary-grade education in a small setting within a rural community anchored by a community college. The third-grade ELA outcomes are encouraging. The math outcomes suggest attention is warranted. The economic context is one of high need, and the town's population is declining rather than growing. For a family considering this area, the most immediate question is whether the consolidation has changed where their young child would actually attend school.
See more original research from School Decision →