Benton County School District

The Benton County School District in Mississippi operates three schools: one elementary school, one middle/high school, and one alternative school. The data reveals stark contrasts in the performance of these schools, with the alternative Hickory Flat Attendance Center significantly outperforming the other two schools in the district.

Hickory Flat Attendance Center stands out as a bright spot, with higher proficiency rates than the district and state averages across most grade levels and subject areas, including strong performance in Math, Science, and End-of-Course exams. The school also boasts a significantly higher 4-year graduation rate of 89.4% and a lower chronic absenteeism rate of 23.9% compared to the district and state. In contrast, the other two schools, Ashland Elementary and Ashland Middle-High, struggle with very low proficiency rates, often 10-20 percentage points below the district and state in ELA and Math.

Despite the high-poverty nature of the district, with all three schools having 100% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, Hickory Flat Attendance Center appears to be highly effective at serving its high-need student population. The school's low student-teacher ratio of 10:1 suggests that class size is not a major limiting factor, and further investigation into the specific programs, practices, and strategies employed at Hickory Flat could provide valuable insights for improving the performance of the other schools in the district.