Summary:
The Laurel School District serves roughly 2,620 students across 6 schools — 3 elementary, 2 middle, and 1 high — in a high-poverty area of Mississippi, ranking 92nd out of 134 districts with a 2-star rating. The district overall sits below state averages in test proficiency, graduation rate (83.2% vs. 89.2%), and chronic absenteeism (35.9% vs. 23.9%), and every school serves a nearly 100% free/reduced-price lunch population.
The clear standout is Laurel Magnet School Of The Arts, ranked 28th out of 377 elementary schools (93rd percentile) with a 5-star rating for three straight years; its math and ELA proficiency rates often double or nearly double state averages, and its chronic absenteeism rate is just 8.0%. The rest of the district struggles in comparison. Laurel Middle School ranks in the 3rd percentile, Nora Davis Elementary in the 3rd percentile, and Laurel High School in the 22nd percentile — all with test scores well below state averages. Laurel Upper Elementary has no ranking available but posts very low math proficiency (11–12% in grades 5–6), while Oak Park Elementary serves the youngest students (PK–1) and has no recent test scores, making its current performance hard to judge. The gap between Laurel Magnet and Laurel Upper is staggering: 6th grade math proficiency is 100% at the magnet school versus 12.1% at Laurel Upper, and 5th grade reading is 88.4% versus 26.9%.
Chronic absenteeism is a major factor: Laurel High School (59.8%) and Laurel Middle School (41.0%) have the highest rates and weakest outcomes, while Laurel Magnet's 8.0% rate aligns with its top performance. Mathematics is a district-wide weakness, and year-over-year trends are mixed — some schools are improving while others decline. For parents, the data shows that poverty alone doesn't determine success; Laurel Magnet proves high achievement is possible in this district, but most non-magnet schools have significant ground to gain.
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