Holmes County Consolidated

Holmes County Consolidated is a small, high-poverty Mississippi district serving about 2,300 students in grades K-12 across 7 schools: 4 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 1 high school. Every school in the district reports 100% free/reduced-price lunch eligibility, and overall the district is rated 1 star, ranking 116th out of 134 Mississippi districts.

The clear standout is Durant Elementary School, the only 2-star school in the district. It ranks in the 36th percentile statewide — the best in the district — and has climbed dramatically from the 11th percentile in 2023–2024. Durant outperforms the district average in nearly every subject, and its 5th grade Science proficiency of 76.7% even tops the state average of 71.5%. Its chronic absenteeism rate of 17.8% is also well below the district average of 30.9%. Meanwhile, William Dean Junior Elementary School ranks in the 6th percentile with 0 stars, and S.V. Marshall Elementary School sits in the 22nd percentile with 1 star — showing that even within the same poverty context, results vary widely.

Among middle schools, Williams-Sullivan Middle School has the district’s best attendance (9.3% chronic absenteeism) and a strong 8th grade Science performance at 61.4% proficiency, above the state average. It also beats S.V. Marshall Middle School in 8th grade Math (33.4% vs. 16.5%) and ELA (26.4% vs. 9.9%). However, S.V. Marshall Middle ranks in the 5th percentile with 0 stars, and its 8th grade ELA rate of 9.9% is a serious concern. Holmes County Central High School posts a strong 92.0% graduation rate, above the state average, but its test scores are low: Biology proficiency is 37.7% vs. 63.1% statewide, English II is 32.2% vs. 49.3%, and chronic absenteeism is 46.9% — the highest in the district. Science is the district’s brightest subject area, with multiple schools exceeding state averages, while middle school literacy and high school attendance remain the biggest opportunities for improvement.