The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Science. The lowest is 50% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Trent Lott Academy
Trent Lott Academy sits in Pascagoula, a Gulf Coast city where heavy industry and family life run side by side. The school serves fifth and sixth graders as part of the Pascagoula-Gautier School District, occupying that narrow transitional band between elementary and middle school. It is not a charter school. Its magnet status and Title I designation were not reported in the available data.
On Mississippi's MAAP assessment, the most recent results show a school where roughly half of tested students reach proficiency, with the younger cohort outperforming the older one. Fifth graders do better across the board. In English language arts, a clear majority of fifth graders meet the proficiency bar, and science results for that grade are the strongest indicator in the school's profile. Math proficiency for fifth graders sits just above the halfway mark. Sixth grade results dip across both math and English language arts, with fewer than half of tested sixth graders reaching proficiency in either subject. This is a pattern a parent may want to look into further with the school, since the decline from fifth to sixth could reflect the difficulty of the transition, the assessment itself, or something about instruction in that year. The data does not include multi-year trends, so there is no way to tell from what was provided whether this year is typical or unusual.
The student body is diverse. Black students form the largest group, followed by white students, with a sizable Hispanic population and a smaller share of students identifying as two or more races. Every student in the building qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a universal indicator of economic need across the entire enrollment. The data does not include counts for students with individualized education programs or English learners, so the picture of special populations is incomplete.
Pascagoula itself is an industrial city whose economy turns on shipbuilding and refining. Ingalls Shipbuilding, publicly reported as Mississippi's largest employer, and Chevron's refinery anchor the local job market, joined by Bollinger Shipyards, Rolls Royce Naval Marine, and other industrial firms. The city has a historic downtown core, formerly the town of Scranton, and is generally car-dependent, with U.S. Route 90 running through as a main arterial. The population has declined modestly since peaking in the late Cold War era, and the city has rebuilt substantially since Hurricane Katrina. Housing here is affordable relative to both state and national benchmarks, with typical home values well below the Mississippi statewide figure and far below the national one. For a family weighing where to live while their child attends this school, the housing market is accessible on a moderate income.
One district-level change is worth noting for families looking ahead. Jackson Elementary School in the Pascagoula-Gautier district is scheduled to close after the coming school year, which will redraw attendance zones. This does not directly affect Trent Lott Academy's fifth and sixth grade catchment, but families with younger children moving into the area should be aware that elementary school assignments in Gautier may shift.
The available data does not include information on programs, course access, staffing, discipline, attendance, or any civil-rights metrics. There is also no comparison set positioning this school against others in the county. What is here paints a school with middling proficiency results that tilt stronger in fifth grade, a fully economically disadvantaged student population, and a community grounded in heavy industry with housing costs that remain within reach.
See more original research from School Decision →