Houston Upper Elementary

Houston Upper Elementary serves 387 students in grades 3–5 in Houston, Mississippi, and is part of the Chickasaw County School District, which is rated 3 stars and ranks 51st out of 134 districts statewide. The school itself has earned a 3-star rating for 2025–2026, ranking in the 59th percentile, though it held a 4-star rating the previous year. This is a school that serves a predominantly low-income community, with about 78% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch.

One of the school’s standout strengths is attendance: its chronic absenteeism rate is just 11.5%, about half the district and state averages. That engages well with strong academic results in 5th grade. In 2025–2026, 88.2% of 5th graders scored proficient in science—well above the state average of 71.5% and far ahead of Okolona Elementary School (60.7%). Houston Upper also beat state averages in 5th grade ELA (64.5% vs. 55.8%) and math (63.0% vs. 49.6%). Compared with nearby schools serving the same grades, Houston Upper generally outperforms Okolona and holds its own against West Clay Elementary School, though West Clay posts higher 5th grade scores in ELA and math with a much smaller enrollment.

The data also reveal an encouraging pattern: students tend to enter 3rd grade below state averages but leave 5th grade above them. For example, 3rd grade math proficiency was 37% (below the state’s 48.8%), but by 5th grade, math proficiency jumped to 63%. That said, 2025–2026 saw a noticeable dip in 3rd and 4th grade scores, which caused the school’s overall rank to slip from the 70th to the 59th percentile. Houston Lower Elementary School, which feeds directly into this school, has the same low absenteeism rate, suggesting shared community strengths. For parents, the big question is whether the lower-grade dip is just one challenging cohort or a signal that the transition into 3rd grade needs more support—especially since the school clearly builds momentum by 5th grade.