Summary:
The city of Quitman, Mississippi, is served by two elementary schools within the Quitman School District — Quitman Lower Elementary (grades PK–2) and Quitman Upper Elementary School (grades 3–5) — which together enroll about 734 students, with roughly 77% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, reflecting a high-poverty area.
The key distinction between the two schools is that Quitman Upper Elementary School has measurable academic data while Quitman Lower Elementary does not, since state testing begins in 3rd grade. Quitman Upper Elementary has shown real strengths in math, particularly in 5th grade (63.1% proficient versus the state's 48.3% in 2024–2025) and 4th grade, where it beat the state both years. English Language Arts is improving across every grade, but still trails state averages in most cases. Quitman Lower Elementary raises concerns: its reported student-teacher ratio of 38.6 is exceptionally high, and its chronic absenteeism rate of 32.9% means about one in three students is missing significant school time. The absence of test data at this level creates a blind spot, but the school's high poverty rate and absenteeism suggest students may enter 3rd grade already at risk.
Both schools struggle with chronic absenteeism, with rates around 31–33% compared to the statewide average of 23.9%, although both are below the Quitman School District's overall rate of 36.5%. The district ranks 91st of 134 Mississippi districts with a 2-star rating, placing it in the bottom third statewide. However, Quitman Upper Elementary has improved its own percentile ranking from 41st to 46th over the past two years, and the 3rd grade math scores at that school represent a serious weakness (31.6% versus 48.8% statewide in 2025–2026). The challenge ahead is clear: early math intervention and addressing chronic absenteeism are critical for both schools to build on the pockets of success already visible in the upper grades.
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