Threadgill Elementary

Threadgill Elementary is a grades 2–6 elementary school in Greenwood, Mississippi, serving 295 students within the Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District. The school consistently ranks at the very bottom of Mississippi elementary schools — in 2025–2026, Threadgill Elementary ranked 373rd out of 377 schools, placing it in the 1st percentile with 0 stars. This bottom-1% ranking has held for several consecutive years, with only a brief rise to the 4th percentile in 2023–2024.

Test scores at Threadgill run far below state averages across every grade and subject. In 2025–2026, ELA proficiency ranged from 13.9% in 6th grade to 33.3% in 5th grade, while math ranged from 11.1% in 6th grade to 21.5% in 4th grade — compared with state averages between 48% and 56%. The 6th grade results are especially troubling, with just 12.1% of students proficient in both math and ELA in 2024–2025. Nearby same-district schools fare much better: Bankston Elementary, just 2.5 miles away with nearly identical poverty levels, ranks in the 14th percentile and posted 6th grade ELA proficiency of 36.8% versus Threadgill's 13.9%. Leflore Elementary's 6th grade math proficiency was 56.5% compared to Threadgill's 12.1%. Notably, Threadgill's early-grade scores are closer to local norms, but the gap widens sharply by 6th grade, suggesting academic challenges compound as students progress.

Threadgill serves a 100% economically disadvantaged student population, with all students qualifying for free/reduced lunch. Chronic absenteeism is a major concern: 26.6% of students were chronically absent in 2023–2024, the highest among nearby schools and above the district rate of 23.8%. Attendance challenges grow with age, as Threadgill Primary School, the PK–1 feeder school, reported a lower rate of 19.7%. Math is the most glaring need, with average proficiency of 16.0% across grades 3–6 versus 24.1% in ELA. Science is a relative bright spot, with 5th grade science proficiency at 37.3%. Student-teacher ratios are comparable to peer schools, so outcome gaps are likely driven by factors like attendance, instructional quality, and support services rather than staffing. Bankston Elementary's success in the same district shows that higher performance is achievable despite similar challenges.