West Tallahatchie School District

The West Tallahatchie School District in Mississippi serves about 548 students across two schools—R.H. Bearden Elementary (K–6) and West Tallahatchie High School (7–12)—in a high-poverty rural area where nearly all students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The district’s clear standout is R.H. Bearden Elementary, which has jumped from the 12th to the 32nd percentile in state rankings over the past two years and now earns 2 stars. Sixth grade math is a true bright spot: 74.2% of students are proficient, more than 20 points above the state average, even though the school has roughly 99% economic disadvantage. The elementary school also posted strong ELA gains across all grades in 2025–2026, with 5th grade jumping from 29.4% to 44.7% proficiency. Meanwhile, West Tallahatchie High School has fallen from the 33rd to the 17th percentile, now ranking 186 out of 224 high schools. While its 7th grade math proficiency more than doubled to 61.5%, surpassing the state average, other areas remain weak. Chronic absenteeism is a serious concern at the high school—41.5% of students are chronically absent, far above the state’s 23.9%—and the graduation rate is 80.0%, below the state’s 89.2%.

Overall, test proficiency gaps are significant in most subjects. At the high school, 8th grade science lags the state by over 30 points, and 8th grade math trails by nearly 26 points. At the elementary school, science is the weakest subject, with 5th grade at 47.3% versus the state’s 71.5%. Despite nearly universal poverty, the standout performances in 6th grade math and 7th grade math prove that success is possible. The district’s biggest opportunity is to study what is working at R.H. Bearden Elementary and scale those strategies to West Tallahatchie High School, particularly around attendance, secondary math, and reading. While the district as a whole remains low-performing, the elementary school’s upward trajectory offers a hopeful path forward.