Best High Schools in Cleveland, MS

Located in Cleveland, Mississippi, this analysis covers one high school—Cleveland Central High School—serving grades 9–12 with 799 students within the Cleveland School District.

Cleveland Central High School is a high-poverty school facing significant challenges on multiple fronts. Nearly all students (99.87%) qualify for free/reduced lunch, signaling concentrated economic disadvantage that provides important context for its academic outcomes. The school's most recent state ranking places it in the bottom decile of Mississippi high schools (203rd out of 224), a sharp drop from previous years after climbing from the 17th percentile (2023–2024) to the 28th percentile (2024–2025) before collapsing to the 9th percentile (2025–2026). This volatility is concerning for parents tracking stability. Academic proficiency lags state averages in every subject, with Algebra I showing the most dramatic decline—dropping from 45.9% proficient in 2024–2025 to 30.8% in 2025–2026, widening the gap versus the state average to 35.2 points. English II proficiency sits at 33.5% (state: 49.3%), and Biology at 43.2% (state: 63.1%). U.S. History was the school's relative strength at 51.1% in 2024–2025 but was not reported for the most recent year.

Chronic absenteeism is a critical issue, with 38.7% of students chronically absent—well above both the state average (23.9%) and district average (22.7%). This likely connects to the graduation rate of 78.2%, which trails the state's 89.2% by 11 points, meaning roughly one in five students does not graduate on time. Despite these challenges, Cleveland Central shows relative strength in Biology and English II, where proficiency gaps are 16–20 points behind state averages rather than the 35-point gap seen in Algebra I. The district itself ranks below the median (89th out of 134 districts), and the high school's performance is even weaker than the district overall. Parents should view this school as one requiring substantial academic support, particularly in mathematics, along with strong attendance interventions and wraparound services for economically disadvantaged students.