Summary:
The Calhoun County School District in Mississippi is home to two high schools—Bruce High School and Calhoun City High School—both serving grades 5 through 12 and ranking in the middle range of Mississippi schools, with the district overall earning a 3-star rating (57th of 134 districts).
Bruce High School is the stronger school on traditional measures: it posts a 93.7% graduation rate (versus 86.3% at Calhoun City), has historically earned 3-star ratings, and shows higher proficiency in most subjects, especially ELA and math. It also has a lower poverty rate, with 67.8% of students receiving free/reduced lunch compared to 81.5% at Calhoun City High School. However, Calhoun City High School is the school with clear momentum: it jumped from a 1-star to a 2-star rating, moved its state rank from 194th to 127th, and now ranks ahead of Bruce. Calhoun City improved its math proficiency from 28.2% to 39.2% and posted a standout Biology score of 78.6% in 2024–25. Meanwhile, Bruce's Algebra I proficiency collapsed from 73.8% to 42.0%, a major factor in its ranking slip from 89th to 144th.
Both schools share a significant concern: chronic absenteeism runs at about 25.3–25.5%, well above the district's 15.8% and even exceeding the state's 23.9%, meaning roughly one in four students is chronically absent. Because both schools serve grades 5–12, their state rankings include middle-school performance, so cohort changes in those grades can heavily influence results. The district's overall 3-star rating masks real variation between the two campuses—Bruce offers more stability and stronger graduation outcomes, while Calhoun City is improving faster and now leads in several end-of-course subjects. Parents should weigh Bruce's consistent academic edge against Calhoun City's strong upward trajectory.
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