Claiborne County Public Schools

Claiborne County Public Schools is a small, rural district in Mississippi serving approximately 1,135 students across three schools: A. W. Watson Elementary (PK–5), Port Gibson Middle School (6–8), and Port Gibson High School (9–12). The district ranks near the bottom of Mississippi, with all schools earning just 0–1 stars, and every school has 100% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch, reflecting extreme poverty concentration throughout the area.

Among the three schools, Port Gibson High School stands out for its graduation rate of 92.5%, above the state average of 89.2%, and its relative strength in Algebra I, where 53.6% of students were proficient in 2025–2026. However, its English II and Biology scores lag far behind state levels, and its chronic absenteeism rate is a striking 51.9%. A. W. Watson Elementary is the largest school with 531 students and has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 15.3%, well below the district average of 30.5%. Its 5th-grade science proficiency reached 53.7%, far outpacing its ELA and math scores, though overall proficiency remains low. Port Gibson Middle School is the smallest at 223 students and has the best student-to-teacher ratio (10.0:1), but it suffered the steepest decline in ranking, dropping from the 23rd percentile in 2024–2025 to the 5th percentile in 2025–2026. Middle school math proficiency fell sharply, with 7th-grade math dropping from 40.0% to 24.2% and 8th-grade math from 37.7% to 21.9%.

Chronic absenteeism rises dramatically with grade level—from 15.3% in elementary school to 30.7% in middle school and 51.9% in high school. This pattern likely contributes to the district’s widespread academic declines, though the high school still manages an above-average graduation rate, suggesting credit recovery or flexible pathways may be at play. Smaller class sizes at the middle and high schools have not translated into higher test scores, indicating that poverty and attendance issues are more influential than class size. Science and Algebra I are relative strengths across the district, while literacy and grade-level math remain the weakest areas. For parents, the clearest takeaway is that the district faces severe challenges, but targeted efforts to improve attendance and support math and reading instruction could make a meaningful difference.