Clarksdale High School

Clarksdale High School is a public high school in Clarksdale, Mississippi, serving 473 students in grades 10 through 12. It is part of the Clarksdale Municipal School District, which carries a 0-star rating, and the school itself ranks 213th out of 224 Mississippi high schools — the lowest-ranked school in its immediate area. Nearly all students (99–100%) come from economically disadvantaged households, and the school has a student-teacher ratio of 16.9, which is higher than nearby schools.

The most striking concern at Clarksdale High School is chronic absenteeism: 57.1% of students were chronically absent in 2023-2024, more than double the state average of 23.9% and far above nearby schools like Northside High School (28.2%), Coahoma County High School (29.8%), and Madison Palmer High School (37.3%). Test scores reflect this struggle: on the MAAP exams, just 20.5% of Clarksdale students passed Algebra I, 11.7% passed Biology, and 27.9% passed English II in 2024-25 — all well below state averages. Biology proficiency has been especially weak, dropping to just 3.7% in 2022-23 before improving to 27.8% most recently.

Despite these academic challenges, the school's graduation rate is 84.6% — close to Madison Palmer's 85.4% and below the state average of 89.2%. This gap suggests many students are earning diplomas without reaching grade-level mastery. Notably, Coahoma County High School, located just 1.7 miles away and serving a similarly high-poverty student body, has much lower absenteeism, significantly better test scores, and a higher graduation rate. The school has remained near the bottom of Mississippi's rankings for nearly a decade, though there are some signs of improvement. Parents considering Clarksdale High may want to ask about attendance support, class size, and academic intervention programs when evaluating their options.