West Clay Elementary School

West Clay Elementary School in Cedarbluff, MS, is a small rural school serving 111 students in grades PK-6 and is part of the West Point Consolidated School District. The school carries a 3-star rating and ranks 181st out of 377 Mississippi elementary schools, placing it at the 52nd percentile — a notable improvement from its bottom-quartile position a few years ago. It operates in a high-poverty context, with 91-100% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch in recent years. One of the school's most distinctive features is its student-teacher ratio of 10.4, the lowest among all comparable nearby schools, which suggests a highly individualized learning environment.

Where West Clay really shines is in its upper elementary grades. The 2025-26 5th grade cohort posted remarkable results, with 72.8% proficient in ELA, 72.7% in math, and 81.9% in science — all well above state averages. Science has been a consistent bright spot, with 5th grade scores at or above state averages for several consecutive years. The school also outperforms its district peers overall, including South Side Elementary. Chronic absenteeism at 19.0% is meaningfully below both the district rate of 28.1% and the state rate of 23.9% — an impressive feat for a high-poverty school.

The biggest challenge is early-grade performance. Only 26.7% of 3rd graders were proficient in ELA and just 20.0% in math, both far below state averages and below nearby schools like Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary. Because of the very small enrollment, test scores can swing dramatically from year to year — a handful of students can shift percentages by 20-30 points. Overall, West Clay offers a caring, low-ratio setting where late-elementary students thrive, but earlier intervention in math and reading could help ensure more consistent success across all grade levels.