Coffeeville Elementary School

Located in the small, rural town of Coffeeville, Mississippi, Coffeeville Elementary School serves 257 students in grades PK-8 within the Coffeeville School District. The school serves a deeply economically disadvantaged population—100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch—and currently holds a mid-tier state ranking of 223rd out of 377 Mississippi schools. Its district ranks 79th out of 134 statewide. One encouraging metric is the student-teacher ratio of 12.0, the lowest among nearby schools, which suggests the potential for more individualized attention.

Compared with nearby schools, Coffeeville stands out for its higher poverty concentration and its exceptionally high chronic absenteeism rate of 38.0%—roughly 3.5 times higher than Bruce Elementary (10.1%) or Davidson Elementary (10.5%). Despite these challenges, Coffeeville posts competitive results in several elementary grades. In 3rd grade ELA, Coffeeville reached 50% proficiency versus 44.2% at Bruce Elementary and 37.9% at Davidson Elementary. It also topped Davidson in 3rd and 4th grade math. That said, Coffeeville trails Grenada Elementary School by wide margins in every comparable grade, and its small grade-level cohorts of about 25 students mean test scores can swing noticeably from year to year.

Coffeeville has some genuine bright spots. Eighth grade science proficiency has exceeded the state average for four consecutive years, reaching as high as 75% in 2024-25. Seventh grade math is another emerging success story, improving four straight years to 68.2% proficiency. The biggest concern is chronic absenteeism, which is likely the single greatest barrier to student success. The middle-grade transition is also fragile in English Language Arts, with proficiency dropping from 52.9% in 5th grade to roughly 32–38% in 6th through 8th grade. Still, the school's overall trajectory is positive—it has climbed from the 17th percentile in 2015-16 to the 41st percentile today.