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Southaven Elementary School

Q: Is Southaven Elementary School a good school?

Southaven Elementary School ranks 256 th of 383 Mississippi elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

256^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 383 Mississippi Elementary Schools

Better than 33% of Mississippi elementary schools

Summary

Southaven Elementary is a public elementary school serving 666 students in grades PK-5 in Southaven, Mississippi, which is part of the Desoto County School District. While the district is ranked 34 out of 130 school districts in the state and has a 4-star rating, Southaven Elementary faces significant challenges, including persistently high chronic absenteeism rates, low test scores, and a high percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

Southaven Elementary's chronic absenteeism rates have ranged from 23.9% to 31.0% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the district and state averages. Additionally, the school's test scores on the MAAP (Mississippi Academic Assessment Program) exams lag behind the Desoto County School District and Mississippi state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2024-2025 projected scores, Southaven Elementary's 3rd grade ELA proficiency is 37.5% compared to the district's 50.7% and the state's 49.4%. The school also has an extremely high percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 81.08% to 99.56% over the past few years, which is much higher than the surrounding schools in the district.

However, Southaven Elementary does have a relatively low student-teacher ratio, ranging from 11.7 to 15.6 over the past few years, which could be an asset if leveraged effectively. When comparing Southaven Elementary to other nearby schools in the Desoto County School District, it stands out as the lowest-performing, with schools like Pleasant Hill Elementary and Desoto Central Elementary having significantly higher test scores and rankings.

681

Students ?

16.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,645

Per pupil spending ?

78.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

8274 Claiborne Drive
Southaven, MS 38671

(662) 342-2289

District: Desoto County School District

Students who attend Southaven Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Southaven Middle School
High:	Southaven High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

55.1%

White:

22.2%

Hispanic:

13.2%

See top rated Mississippi elementary schools

Compare Southaven Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 53rd percentile in 2015 → 33rd in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Mississippi average (44% vs 54% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (31% vs 24% Mississippi)

!Ranking has slipped — down 20 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school44%

District avg56%

Mississippi avg54%

256^th of 383

Mississippi public elementary schools ?

Bottom 33%▼ down 20 pts since 2015

From top 47% (2015) to bottom 33% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Mississippi Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

10^th of 12Elementary Schools in the Desoto County School District

34^th of 130Desoto County School District among Mississippi districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Mississippi percentile	Rating
2025	35.9	256 of 383	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	29.5	280 of 390	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.3	295 of 377	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	37.9	238 of 382	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	27.8	262 of 381	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	27.4	293 of 397	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	42.6	232 of 404	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2017	33.2	280 of 406	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2016	37.8	238 of 394	39.6%	★★☆☆☆
2015	48.2	189 of 402	53.0%	★★★☆☆
2014	20.5	345 of 394	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	41.4	255 of 408	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2012	51.8	201 of 414	51.4%	★★★☆☆
2011	49.5	215 of 418	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2010	44.9	238 of 403	40.9%	★★☆☆☆
2009	56.1	182 of 392	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2008	50.4	208 of 394	47.2%	★★☆☆☆

By subject vs Mississippi (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics49%-4 vs state

Science49%-18 vs state

English Language Arts38%-14 vs state

2.3

3 ratings

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★2

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Schools Near Southaven Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MAAP English Language Arts (2025)			MAAP Mathematics (2025)			MAAP Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MAAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAAP Science 5th Grade	Total
Southaven Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	8274 Claiborne Drive	Southaven	38671	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 342-2289	681	42	16.2	78.4%	151 (22.2%)	375 (55.1%)	90 (13.2%)	9 (1.3%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	53 (7.8%)	35.9	256^th of 383 public elementary schools	33.2%		29.5	280^th of 390 public elementary schools	28.2%	24	37.5	34.0	43.4	45.2	53.8	47.8	48.7	$10,645
Hope Sullivan Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	7985 Southaven Circle W	Southaven	38671	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 393-2919	563	35	16.3	72.3%	105 (18.7%)	318 (56.5%)	93 (16.5%)	5 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (7.5%)								(n/a)								$10,907
Southaven Intermediate School	Public	3-5	175 Rasco Road E	Southaven	38671	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 253-0123	1,046	65	16.0	68.6%	213 (20.4%)	585 (55.9%)	160 (15.3%)	14 (1.3%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	71 (6.8%)	43.7	217^th of 383 public elementary schools	43.3%		51.4	197^th of 390 public elementary schools	49.5%	20	37.1	40.9	52.7	41.2	49.7	50.2	66.2	$9,785
Greenbrook Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	730 Rasco Road E	Southaven	38671	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 342-2330	556	37	15.2	70.0%	121 (21.8%)	320 (57.6%)	64 (11.5%)	7 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	41 (7.4%)								(n/a)								$10,458
Horn Lake Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	6341 Ridgewood Rd.	Horn Lake	38637	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 393-4608	520	30	17.3	72.9%	74 (14.2%)	347 (66.7%)	65 (12.5%)	4 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (5.6%)								(n/a)								$12,361
Shadow Oaks Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	380 Shadow Oaks Parkway	Horn Lake	38637	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 393-4585	423	25	17.2	80.1%	52 (12.3%)	297 (70.2%)	55 (13.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (4.3%)								(n/a)								$11,389
Horn Lake Intermediate School	Public	3-5	6585 Horn Lake Road	Horn Lake	38637	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 280-7075	914	51	17.9	79.9%	122 (13.3%)	634 (69.4%)	104 (11.4%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	51 (5.6%)	22	320^th of 383 public elementary schools	16.4%		28	291^st of 390 public elementary schools	25.4%	29	26.2	34.1	47.8	30.2	45.8	22.5	41.8	$10,824
DeSoto Central Elementary	Public	3-5	2411 Central Parkway	Southaven	38672	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 349-6234	831	52	16.1	45.4%	263 (31.6%)	365 (43.9%)	91 (11.0%)	43 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	68 (8.2%)	58.3	161^st of 383 public elementary schools	58.0%		73.1	96^th of 390 public elementary schools	75.4%	65	59.9	51.2	55.5	50.0	47.7	51.3	70.9	$8,778
Pleasant Hill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	7686 Pleasant Hill Road	Olive Branch	38654	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 890-9654	1,079	65	16.7	42.1%	381 (35.3%)	471 (43.7%)	91 (8.4%)	35 (3.2%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	97 (9.0%)	76.4	74^th of 383 public elementary schools	80.7%		79.5	63^rd of 390 public elementary schools	83.8%	11	56.2	57.6	73.9	56.7	80.4	65.1	72.9	$9,903
DeSoto Central Primary School	Public	PK, KG-2	3210 Getwell Rd	Southaven	38672	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 912-1300	792	47	16.8	40.8%	304 (38.4%)	292 (36.9%)	93 (11.7%)	34 (4.3%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	67 (8.5%)								(n/a)								$10,126

Frequently Asked Questions about Southaven Elementary School

Is Southaven Elementary School a good school?

Southaven Elementary School ranks 256^th of 383 Mississippi elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Southaven Elementary School?

Students at Southaven Elementary School are 55% African American, 22% White, 13% Hispanic, 8% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Southaven Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Southaven Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Southaven Middle School
High : Southaven High School

How many students attend Southaven Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 681 students attended Southaven Elementary School.

What district is Southaven Elementary School in?

Desoto County School District

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Mississippi Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.