Amanda Elzy High School

Amanda Elzy High School is a small high school in Greenwood, MS, serving 367 students in grades 9–12 and operating as part of the Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District, where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Academically, the school trails Mississippi state averages by a wide margin, with MAAP end-of-course proficiency rates in core subjects running roughly 20 to 40 percentage points below statewide results. However, this picture is only part of the story — the school stands out in several non-academic areas that matter a great deal for student success.

The most notable strengths are graduation and attendance. Amanda Elzy High School's 2024–25 graduation rate was 88.4%, well above Leflore County High School (75.0%) and Greenwood High School/Votech (82.6%), and nearly matching the state average of 89.2% and J.Z. George High School (88.9%). Chronic absenteeism was just 12.4% in 2023–24, lower than the district average of 23.8%, the state average of 23.9%, and every nearby school, including Greenwood High School/Votech at 40.6%. The school has also shown it can be competitive in math: 35.6% of students scored proficient in Algebra I, beating the district average of 29.1%. English II (27.6% proficient) and Biology (25.9% proficient) are the biggest academic concerns; Biology trails Leflore County High School (51.1%) and Greenwood High School/Votech (47.5%).

In short, Amanda Elzy High School has a “high graduation, low test score” profile. Students are showing up consistently and completing school at near-state rates, but academic mastery in reading and science has not yet translated into strong assessment results. Test scores swing noticeably from year to year — Algebra I proficiency jumped from 18.2% to 36.7% in two years, while Biology dropped from 36.3% to 25.9%. The school's state ranking has slipped to the 3rd percentile, reflecting how heavily Mississippi's accountability system weighs test scores. Within the context of nearby schools serving similarly high-poverty communities, this school is stronger in graduation and attendance, competitive in Algebra I, and weakest in English and science — making English II and Biology the clearest priorities for improvement.