Summary:
The city of Baldwyn, Mississippi, is served by two public schools within the Baldwyn School District: Baldwyn High School (grades 5–12, 460 students) and Baldwyn Elementary (grades K–4, 279 students), together serving 739 students in a small, high-poverty community. The district overall earns a 3-star rating, but that average hides a striking split between the two schools.
Baldwyn High School is the clear standout, jumping from the 42nd percentile to the 84th percentile in Mississippi rankings over one year and earning a 4-star rating. Its end-of-course exams are well above state averages, especially Biology (81.8% proficient vs. 63.1% statewide), Algebra I (75% vs. 66%), and English II (57.4% vs. 49.3%). The high school also has a favorable 11.2:1 student-teacher ratio and lower chronic absenteeism than the state. In contrast, Baldwyn Elementary sits in the bottom 18% of elementary schools with a 1-star rating, and it scored below the state in every tested subject and grade. Math proficiency is especially weak: only 25.5% of 3rd graders were proficient compared to 48.8% statewide.
The biggest red flag is the high school's graduation rate of just 76.5%, far below the state average of 89.2%, even as its test scores shine. This suggests a “late bloomer” pattern: students struggle in 5th–8th grade but catch up by high school, as seen in the large gains on EOC subjects. One bright spot is 8th grade math, which exceeded the state average both years. Chronic absenteeism is low at both schools despite high poverty, showing strong attendance. The district's priority should be raising elementary proficiency — especially 3rd grade math and ELA — and improving graduation rates, while finding ways to replicate the high school's EOC success in earlier grades.
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