Summary:
The city of Purvis, Mississippi, is served by four schools within the Lamar County School District — Purvis Lower Elementary (PK–2), Purvis Upper Elementary (3–5), Purvis Middle School (6–8), and Purvis High School (9–12) — enrolling roughly 1,886 students in a district rated 4 stars and ranked 30th out of 134 districts statewide.
Among the four schools, Purvis Middle School is the strongest overall, ranking 58th of 260 Mississippi middle schools (78th percentile) with 4 stars in every reported year; its math scores in grades 6–8 all exceed district and state averages. Purvis Upper Elementary is the most improved, climbing from the 53rd to the 62nd percentile over two years, with fifth-grade math jumping from 37.9% to 54.2% proficiency. Purvis High School is a solid 3-star school but slipped from 4 stars and now ranks 76th of 224 (66th percentile); its biggest red flag is chronic absenteeism at 28.6%. Purvis Lower Elementary serves the youngest students with no test data reported, but its low 15.3% chronic absenteeism rate suggests a strong attendance foundation.
About 52% of students districtwide qualify for free/reduced lunch, reflecting economically diverse communities. Chronic absenteeism rises sharply with age: roughly 15% in elementary schools, 23.3% in middle school, and 28.6% in high school — the latter well above the state rate of 23.9%. Student-teacher ratios are favorable everywhere, from 12.5:1 at the high school to 15:1 at the lower elementary. Academically, mathematics is a districtwide strength while English Language Arts remains the weakest subject, particularly in grades 5, 7, and 8. The high school's graduation rate of 89.9% slightly exceeds the state average, and Biology (70.1%) and U.S. History (76.9%) are standout subjects.
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