The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Science. The lowest is 27% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on West Hills Elementary School
West Hills Elementary School sits on 32nd Street in Meridian, the county seat of Lauderdale County and the principal city of the surrounding micropolitan area. It is part of the Meridian Public School District and serves kindergarten through fifth grade. The school is not a charter or magnet, and no specific locale classification, Title I status, or school type designation appears in the available data.
The enrollment is moderate for an elementary school in this grade band, with students distributed fairly evenly across the six grades. The student body is predominantly Black, with small representations of Hispanic, multiracial, white, Asian, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which points to a community-facing economic profile that shapes how the school operates and what supports families may need. Data on individualized education programs and English learner populations was not available, so those dimensions of the school's work are not visible here.
State testing results come from the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program for the most recent school year. In English language arts, the school shows a clear pattern of strengthening performance as students move up through the grades. Third-grade proficiency sits below the midpoint, fourth grade rises somewhat, and fifth grade reaches nearly half of tested students scoring proficient or above. This upward trajectory across grade levels suggests the school is building skills over time rather than seeing flat outcomes. In math, the picture is more uneven. Third-grade math proficiency is low, fourth grade shows a marked jump, and then fifth grade dips back down. Science, tested only in fifth grade, reaches the halfway mark for proficiency, which is a brighter spot. A parent noticing the math fluctuation across grades may want to look into this further with the school, particularly whether curriculum pacing or instructional supports shift between grades.
Participation rates were not reported for any of the tested grades, so it is not possible to confirm how completely the student body was assessed. No multi-year trend data was available, which means these results represent a single point in time rather than a pattern. Without prior years to compare against, a parent has limited ability to judge whether the school is improving, holding steady, or slipping.
Meridian itself is a city with deep railroad history, once the largest in Mississippi during its industrial peak. The economy has since diversified into healthcare, military, and manufacturing. Naval Air Station Meridian and Key Field together employ a large workforce, and Ochsner Rush Health is the largest non-military regional employer. Peavey Electronics is headquartered here. Downtown Meridian holds civic and cultural institutions including the Riley Center, the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience, the Meridian Museum of Art, and the Meridian Symphony Orchestra. Union Station provides Amtrak and Greyhound service. The city's population has declined over recent decades, and no major new housing developments surfaced in the available research.
The housing market in the school's zip code is well below both state and national benchmarks for typical home values. Homes here are inexpensive in absolute terms, and the price-to-income ratio sits close to the national figure, meaning local incomes and home prices are roughly in step with each other. Rent affordability, where data is available, suggests rents consume a modest share of income relative to many markets. For a family considering buying, the cost barrier is low. Rental data for the immediate area was limited.
The school's environment and access data was thin. No information on discipline practices, course offerings beyond the standard elementary curriculum, staffing ratios, or attendance patterns was available. No program-specific offerings such as gifted, arts, or extracurricular programs were listed. The district brief turned up no parent-relevant changes from recent district meetings, so there is little to report on strategic direction or recent initiatives from Meridian Public Schools. A family wanting to understand the school day experience, classroom size, or specialized programming would need to contact the school or district directly.
What the data does show is an elementary school serving a high-need population in an affordable, historically rich small city. English language arts outcomes trend upward across grade levels, science proficiency reaches a solid level in fifth grade, and math results are inconsistent. The community context combines modest housing costs with a diversified local economy anchored by military installations and healthcare. For families drawn to Meridian's low cost of living and civic amenities, West Hills represents a neighborhood elementary option whose academic results are mixed and whose fuller picture depends on information the available data does not capture.
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