Amory School District

The Amory School District serves about 1,461 students across four schools in Mississippi, covering kindergarten through 12th grade with no alternative schools. For parents, the big picture is that the district has a standout elementary school, a high school that graduates students well, and a middle school that is struggling significantly. East Amory Elementary is the clear star, ranking in the 80th percentile statewide with a 4-star rating. It beats state averages in 3rd grade ELA, 4th grade math, and especially 5th grade science (84% proficient vs. 71.5% statewide). Meanwhile, Amory Middle School is the biggest concern: its ranking plunged from the 71st to 45th percentile in one year, and 8th grade math proficiency is just 24.3% compared to 51.4% statewide. Chronic absenteeism at the middle school is alarmingly high at 39.0%, far above the state average of 23.9%.

At the high school level, Amory High School posts a solid 91.2% graduation rate, above the state’s 89.2%, and outperforms the state in English II (55.8% vs. 49.3%). However, its Biology proficiency is notably below average (51.7% vs. 63.1%), and its overall ranking has bounced around between the 55th and 75th percentile over the past three years. The district’s youngest students at West Amory Elementary don’t have test scores yet since it serves grades K-2, but it has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the district at 22.2%. All four schools have high poverty rates, with free/reduced-price lunch eligibility between 62% and 70%, yet the elementary schools still manage to outperform state averages in several subjects—a sign that strong teaching and support are happening early on.

Perhaps the most important takeaway for parents is the sharp drop-off between elementary and middle school. While East Amory students thrive through 5th grade, the middle school shows a severe decline in 8th grade math, science, and ELA, along with dramatic one-year score swings—for example, 8th grade math fell from 53.9% to 24.3%. This suggests that the middle school transition is a critical weak point, and improving attendance and providing extra academic support in grades 6-8 would likely have the biggest impact. The district overall is ranked 40th out of 134 Mississippi districts, earning a 4-star rating, but closing the middle school gap would make the entire system much stronger.