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A.W. James Elementary

Q: Is A.W. James Elementary a good school?

A.W. James Elementary ranks 235 th of 383 Mississippi elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

235^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 383 Mississippi Elementary Schools

Better than 39% of Mississippi elementary schools

Summary

A W James Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Drew, Mississippi, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 203 students. The school is part of the Sunflower City Cons School District, which is ranked 98 out of 130 districts in Mississippi and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

A W James Elementary School faces significant challenges in terms of student academic performance and attendance. The school has had consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 18.1% to 30.1% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state and district averages. Additionally, the school's test scores on the MAAP (Mississippi Academic Assessment Program) exams are generally lower than the state and district averages across all grade levels. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics were below the state and district averages. Furthermore, 100% of the students at A W James Elementary School are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.

When compared to the nearby schools, such as Ruleville Central Elementary School, McEvans School, and R H Bearden Elementary School, A W James Elementary School generally performs worse on key metrics like test scores and chronic absenteeism rates. The school's low ranking within the Sunflower City Cons School District and the state of Mississippi suggests that there may be systemic challenges that need to be addressed to improve the academic performance and attendance of the students.

219

Students ?

12.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,006

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

400 South Blvd
Drew, MS 38737

(662) 745-8892

District: Sunflower County Consolidated School District

Racial breakdown:

African American:

94.5%

Hispanic:

3.2%

Two or more races:

1.8%

See top rated Mississippi elementary schools

Compare A.W. James Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 62nd percentile in 2022 → 39th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Mississippi average (45% vs 54% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped from its 62nd-percentile peak (2022) to 39th (2025)

!English Language Arts scores 17 pts below the Mississippi average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school45%

District avg42%

Mississippi avg54%

235^th of 383

Mississippi public elementary schools ?

Bottom 39%▲ up 4 pts since 2017

From bottom 34% (2017) to bottom 39% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Mississippi Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 3Elementary Schools in the Sunflower County Consolidated School District

98^th of 130Sunflower County Consolidated School District among Mississippi districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Mississippi percentile	Rating
2025	39.4	235 of 383	38.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	55.4	175 of 390	55.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	44.3	209 of 377	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	62.7	145 of 382	62.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	15.7	328 of 381	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	42.1	236 of 397	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	49.5	205 of 404	49.3%	★★☆☆☆
2017	35.3	267 of 406	34.2%	★★☆☆☆

By subject vs Mississippi (2024-2025) ?

Science59%-7 vs state

Mathematics49%-3 vs state

English Language Arts35%-17 vs state

★

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Schools Near A.W. James Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MAAP English Language Arts (2025)				MAAP Mathematics (2025)				MAAP Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MAAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAAP Science 5th Grade	Total
A.W. James Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	400 South Blvd	Drew	38737	Sunflower County	Sunflower County Consolidated School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 745-8892	219	17	12.6	100.0%	1 (0.5%)	207 (94.5%)	7 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.8%)	39.4	235^th of 383 public elementary schools	38.6%		55.4	175^th of 390 public elementary schools	55.1%	60	22.2	56.0	34.4		55.6	64.0	31.3		59.4	$15,006
Ruleville Central Elementary	Public	K-5	410 L F Packer Drive	Ruleville	38771	Sunflower County	Sunflower County Consolidated School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 756-4276	271	18	14.8	100.0%	6 (2.2%)	259 (95.6%)	4 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	19.1	331^st of 383 public elementary schools	13.6%		21.2	321^st of 390 public elementary schools	17.7%	10	20.4	33.3	33.3		4.1	38.9	21.4		66.6	$12,259
D.M. Smith Elementary	Public	3-6	715 Martin Luther King Dr	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-4355	233	18	12.7	99.6%	1 (0.4%)	218 (93.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.2%)	24.9	301^st of 383 public elementary schools	21.4%		11.8	360^th of 390 public elementary schools	7.7%	59	17.3	27.8	32.5	20.9	42.7	55.6	35.7	35.4	60.4	$13,039
Hayes Cooper Center	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-6	500 Martin L. King	Merigold	38759	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	Yes	No	No	(662) 748-2734	304	21	14.7	100.0%	139 (45.7%)	132 (43.4%)	20 (6.6%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.3%)	67.7	121^st of 383 public elementary schools	68.4%		63	144^th of 390 public elementary schools	63.1%	23	41.9	61.3	71.0	86.7	44.2	45.2	83.9	86.7	70.9	$10,835
Nailor Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	600 Cross Street	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-4528	256	14	18.7	100.0%	2 (0.8%)	245 (95.7%)	3 (1.2%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.0%)								(n/a)										$12,045
Pearman Elementary School	Public	1-6	306 Merritt Drive	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-4484	186	12	15.7	100.0%	16 (8.6%)	141 (75.8%)	19 (10.2%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (4.8%)	10.1	360^th of 383 public elementary schools	6.0%		12.4	356^th of 390 public elementary schools	8.7%	4	40.7	20.5	20.0	20.0	7.4	25.0	14.3	33.3	32.4	$13,390
I. T. Montgomery Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	202 Martin L. King Drive	Mound Bayou	38762	Bolivar County	North Bolivar Consolidated	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 333-8952	185	15	12.7	99.5%	0 (0.0%)	139 (75.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (24.9%)	43.6	219^th of 383 public elementary schools	42.8%		28.1	289^th of 390 public elementary schools	25.9%	70	39.3	30.4	50.0	38.5	42.8	47.8	50.0	57.7	72.2	$14,831
Bell Academy	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-6	1016 Taylor Street	Boyle	38730	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(662) 843-4572	327	19	17.6	100.0%	115 (35.2%)	175 (53.5%)	11 (3.4%)	6 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (6.1%)	71	108^th of 383 public elementary schools	71.8%		72.9	99^th of 390 public elementary schools	74.6%	9	53.9	53.7	72.2	59.0	46.1	58.5	52.7	92.3	77.8	$11,436
Parks Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	1301 Terrace Road	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-3166	265	17	16.0	100.0%	94 (35.5%)	120 (45.3%)	19 (7.2%)	10 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (8.3%)	21.1	326^th of 383 public elementary schools	14.9%		28.8	284^th of 390 public elementary schools	27.2%	42	25.6	18.9	55.0	29.6	36.8	18.9	40.0	37.0	50.0	$13,034
R.H. Bearden Elementary	Public	K-6	6442 Friendship Road West	Sumner	38957	Tallahatchie County	West Tallahatchie School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 375-8304	251	12	20.9	98.8%	3 (1.2%)	238 (94.8%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.2%)	23.3	310^th of 383 public elementary schools	19.1%		16.2	344^th of 390 public elementary schools	11.8%	34	22.2	30.6	29.4	29.1	18.1	47.2	38.3	79.2	35.3	$18,177

Frequently Asked Questions about A.W. James Elementary

What district is A.W. James Elementary in?

Sunflower County Consolidated School District

Is A.W. James Elementary a good school?

A.W. James Elementary ranks 235^th of 383 Mississippi elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of A.W. James Elementary?

Students at A.W. James Elementary are 95% African American, 3% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

How many students attend A.W. James Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 219 students attended A.W. James Elementary.

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MSMississippi Elementary School Rankings

MSMississippi District Rankings

Schools in Drew, MS

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Mississippi Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.