The top reported proficiency rate is 51% in Science. The lowest is 23% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Lumberton High School
Lumberton High School sits on US Highway 11 in the small Mississippi city of Lumberton, a community straddling Lamar and Pearl River counties in the Hattiesburg metro area. The town grew up around the lumber industry and retains the low-density, spread-out character typical of rural Mississippi. A traditional Main Street corridor exists near City Hall, but the city has limited commercial activity, a high housing vacancy rate, and a population that has been declining for years. Publicly reported projections suggest the decline may be leveling off, with modest growth expected later this decade. The Lumberton Public School District consolidated into the Lamar County School District, and Lumberton High now operates as part of that larger system.
The school serves grades seven through twelve and is small for that grade span, with roughly even distribution across the grades. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the low socioeconomic status index that characterizes the surrounding community. The student body is roughly half white and about two-fifths Black, with small percentages of Hispanic students and students of two or more races. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not reported, so those population sizes are unknown here.
State assessment results come from the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program, and the available data covers only seventh and eighth grade. Math proficiency was moderate in seventh grade, with roughly four in ten students scoring proficient or above, but dropped in eighth grade to fewer than three in ten. English language arts was the softest area across both tested grades, with only about a quarter or fewer of students reaching proficiency. Science was the relative bright spot among the available results, with about half of eighth graders scoring proficient or above. A parent may want to look into these results further with the school, particularly the ELA figures, which sit well below the state's proficiency bar. Participation rates were not reported for any of these assessments.
The data does not include high school end-of-course assessment results, graduation rates, advanced course offerings, career or dual-credit pathways, staffing ratios, attendance, or discipline information. These gaps are common for schools whose reported data captures only part of the grade band, and they should not be read as signs of weakness. A family wanting a complete picture of the upper-grade experience would need to ask the school or district directly for those figures.
Housing in the Lumberton zip code is quite affordable compared with state and national benchmarks. Typical home values sit well below the statewide figure and far below the national one, and the price-to-income ratio is favorable. Estimated monthly mortgage costs are modest. Rental data was not available for this location. For a family considering a move to the area, the housing market is one of the more accessible aspects of life here, even as the town navigates long-term population decline.
What the assembled picture shows is a small, rural secondary school serving an economically disadvantaged community in a town working to stabilize after years of population loss. The middle-grade test results that are available point to real academic challenges, especially in literacy, with science as a relative area of strength. Without high school assessment data, graduation rates, or program information, much of what a parent would want to evaluate about the upper grades is simply not in the available record, and the school itself is the best source for filling in those gaps.
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