Summary:
Claiborne County Public Schools contains one high school: Port Gibson High School, a grades 9–12 school with 381 students in a high-poverty Mississippi area where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. As the only high school in the district, Port Gibson represents the complete picture of secondary education in Claiborne County. The school has a favorable student-teacher ratio of 11.5, a potential asset, and a graduation rate of 92.5% that exceeds the state average of 89.2%. However, serious challenges exist in academics and attendance.
Chronic absenteeism is a major concern: 51.9% of Port Gibson High School students were chronically absent in 2023-2024, nearly double the district average of 30.5% and more than double the state average of 23.9%. MAAP proficiency lags the state across all subjects. In 2025-2026, Algebra I proficiency was 53.6% (state: 66.0%), English II was 25.0% (state: 49.3%), and Biology was 40.0% (state: 63.1%). Algebra I is a relative strength, nearly matching the state average in 2024-2025 (66.6% vs. 67.3%), but English II is critical, with only one in four students proficient.
The school's state ranking has declined sharply, falling from the 36th percentile in 2023-2024 to 28th in 2024-2025 and 12th in 2025-2026, with its star rating dropping from 2 stars to 1 star. This mirrors proficiency drops in nearly every subject year over year. Despite this, the school graduates students above the state average—a meaningful positive. The most urgent intervention areas are student attendance and literacy, especially English II. Port Gibson High School's low student-teacher ratio could support individualized attention, but universal poverty and extreme absenteeism appear to outweigh that benefit for Claiborne County Public Schools.
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