Summary:
The Chickasaw County School District contains just one high school, Houston High School, which serves grades 9 through 12 with an enrollment of 529 students in a largely rural Mississippi area. This single school drives the district’s high school-level performance, and its key characteristics include a free/reduced lunch rate of 64.65% and a favorable student-to-teacher ratio of 12.2 to 1, suggesting that while many students come from economically disadvantaged households, class sizes are relatively small and may allow for more individualized attention.
Academically, Houston High School is a solid performer with a graduation rate of 92.9%, exceeding both the district’s 90.5% and the state’s 89.2%. The school has also shown strong momentum in state rankings, improving from 96th place in 2023–2024 to 72nd place in 2025–2026, moving from the 58th to 68th percentile among Mississippi high schools. On the most recent MAAP tests, the school beat state averages in Algebra I (73.6% vs. 66.0%), English II (53.9% vs. 49.3%), and Biology (68.3% vs. 63.1%), with Biology showing a notable 6.3-point improvement over the previous year. The only subject where the school trails the state is U.S. History, where its 64.7% proficiency is below the state’s 69.7%, but still above the district average.
The biggest concern for this otherwise strong school is its chronic absenteeism rate: 43.5% of students are chronically absent, compared to just 23.6% for the district and 23.9% for the state. This disconnect between high absenteeism and strong test scores suggests that many regularly attending students are thriving, while a large portion of the student body is missing significant instructional time. If Houston High School can reduce chronic absenteeism while maintaining its recent academic gains and low student-to-teacher ratio, it is well-positioned to continue climbing in state rankings and improve outcomes for all students.
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