Summary:
Waynesboro, Mississippi is served by a single public high school, Wayne County High School, which enrolls 775 students in grades 9 through 12 within the Wayne County School District. The school operates in a high-poverty context, with 99.61% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, and maintains a favorable student-to-teacher ratio of 12.9 students per teacher.
Wayne County High School has shown steady improvement over the past three years, climbing from a state rank of 122 (46th percentile) in 2023–2024 to 105 (53rd percentile) in 2025–2026, earning a 3-star rating in the most recent year. The school's graduation rate of 92.0% exceeds the Mississippi state average of 89.2%. Despite serving an almost entirely economically disadvantaged population, the school outperforms the state in Algebra I (72.4% proficient vs. 66.0%) and Biology (67.1% vs. 63.1%) for the 2025–2026 school year, and also edged out the state in U.S. History in 2024–2025.
The most pressing concern is chronic absenteeism, which stands at 30.9%—nearly double the district rate of 17.1% and well above the state average of 23.9%. English II is another weak spot, with proficiency at 41.4% versus the state's 49.3% in 2025–2026, a gap that has widened from the prior year. On a more positive note, Biology proficiency jumped nearly 10 points year over year, moving from below to above the state average. With a low student-to-teacher ratio and improving test scores, Wayne County High School has a solid foundation, but reducing absenteeism and strengthening literacy will be key to sustaining its upward trajectory.
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