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Stokes Beard Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-4

355^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 377 Mississippi Elementary Schools

Better than 6% of Mississippi elementary schools

Summary

Stokes Beard Elementary School is a PK-5 school in Columbus, MS, serving 369 students as part of the Columbus Municipal School District. The school received 0 stars from the state for 2025-2026, ranking 355th of 377 Mississippi elementary schools (6th percentile). Every student at Stokes Beard qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, placing it among the highest-poverty elementary schools in the region. Its student-teacher ratio of 14.4 is similar to nearby Cook Elementary School (14.2) and Caledonia Elementary (14.0), though less favorable than West Lowndes Elementary (11.1).

Academic performance is the biggest concern. On 2025-2026 state tests, proficiency rates ranged from 15.5% in 4th grade ELA to 28.8% in 3rd grade ELA, while the state average was roughly 48-52%. Stokes Beard trails its same-district peers — Cook Elementary School, Sale Elementary School, and Fairview Elementary School all scored higher — and the gap with nearby Caledonia Elementary is dramatic. Though only about 13 miles apart, Caledonia sits in the 92nd percentile while Stokes Beard sits in the 6th. Most tellingly, West Lowndes Elementary, which serves a nearly identical poverty population just 9.6 miles away, outperforms Stokes Beard on every 2025-2026 state test.

Despite the academic struggles, there are encouraging signs. Chronic absenteeism has improved dramatically, falling from 30.1% in 2021-2022 to 19.3% in 2023-2024 — better than the state average of 23.9% and well below the district's 28.4%. Test scores swing widely from year to year, reflecting small class sizes. For example, 4th grade ELA went from 51.3% proficient in 2023-2024 to just 15.5% in 2025-2026. Scattered bright spots exist too: 5th grade science reached 61.1% proficiency in 2023-2024 and 5th grade ELA hit 47.3% in 2024-2025, both above district averages. Getting students to school is improving; sustaining strong instruction is the next step.

369

Students ?

14.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,893

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

311 Martin Luther King Dr
Columbus, MS 39701

(662) 241-7270

District: Columbus Municipal School District

Students who attend Stokes Beard Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Columbus Middle School
High:	Columbus High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

95.7%

White:

1.6%

Two or more races:

1.6%

See top rated Mississippi elementary schools

Compare Stokes Beard Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 26th percentile in 2016 → 6th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Mississippi average (23% vs 50% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (6th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 20 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school23%

District avg26%

Mississippi avg50%

355^th of 377

Mississippi public elementary schools ?

Bottom 6%▼ down 21 pts since 2016

From bottom 26% (2016) to bottom 6% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Mississippi Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 4Elementary Schools in the Columbus Municipal School District

122^nd of 134Columbus Municipal School District among Mississippi districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Mississippi percentile	Rating
2026	10.9	355 of 377	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	17.8	338 of 383	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.3	320 of 390	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.6	343 of 377	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.2	340 of 382	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.7	320 of 381	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.2	342 of 397	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.1	325 of 404	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	33.4	277 of 406	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2016	27.7	290 of 394	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	14.3	383 of 402	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	50.3	202 of 394	48.7%	★★☆☆☆
2013	41.9	253 of 408	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2012	37.6	273 of 414	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2011	41.0	268 of 418	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2010	57.1	170 of 403	57.8%	★★★☆☆
2009	27.1	308 of 392	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	68.5	112 of 394	71.6%	★★★★☆

By subject vs Mississippi (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics24%-26 vs state

English Language Arts23%-28 vs state

★

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Schools Near Stokes Beard Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MAAP English Language Arts (2026)				MAAP Mathematics (2026)				MAAP Science (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MAAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAAP Science 5th Grade	Total
Stokes Beard Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	311 Martin Luther King Dr	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7270	369	26	14.4	100.0%	6 (1.6%)	353 (95.7%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.6%)	10.9	355^th of 377 public elementary schools	5.8%		17.8	338^th of 383 public elementary schools	11.7%	17	28.8	15.5			25.7	22.4				$11,893
Fairview Elementary School	Public	K-4	225 Airline Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7140	244	16	15.4	99.6%	2 (0.8%)	239 (98.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.2%)	13.3	339^th of 377 public elementary schools	10.1%		18.9	332^nd of 383 public elementary schools	13.3%	7	32.4	20.6			27.0	23.5				$12,216
Cook Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	2217 7th Street N	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7180	415	29	14.2	99.8%	18 (4.3%)	358 (86.3%)	25 (6.0%)	6 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.9%)	16	328^th of 377 public elementary schools	13.0%		23	313^th of 383 public elementary schools	18.3%	15	31.9	32.6			24.5	27.0				$12,452
Sale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	520 Warpath Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7260	290	18	16.4	100.0%	7 (2.4%)	271 (93.4%)	6 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.1%)	13.7	335^th of 377 public elementary schools	11.1%		27.6	287^th of 383 public elementary schools	25.1%	48	23.0	17.8			29.2	33.4				$12,394
New Hope Upper Elementary	Public	3-5	462 Center Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(662) 244-4780	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
New Hope Lower Elementary	Public	PK, KG-2	199 Enlow Drive	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(662) 244-4760	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
West Lowndes Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	1000 Gilmer Wilburn Road	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 244-5050	276	25	11.1	98.6%	3 (1.1%)	268 (97.1%)	4 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	24.5	302^nd of 377 public elementary schools	19.9%		23.1	312^th of 383 public elementary schools	18.5%	10	32.4	18.9	42.0	26.6	29.7	32.4	54.9	33.3	64.5	$15,813
Caledonia Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	9509 Wolfe Rd	Caledonia	39740	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 356-2050	1,070	76	14.0	51.2%	777 (72.6%)	165 (15.4%)	58 (5.4%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	66 (6.2%)	88.5	30^th of 377 public elementary schools	92.0%		86.3	39^th of 383 public elementary schools	89.8%	9	63.7	69.2	73.6		72.6	69.2	70.2		89.6	$9,899
East Side Elementary School	Public	PK-K	1039 E Broad Street	West Point	39773	Clay County	West Point Consolidated School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 494-4691	251	16	15.8	92.4%	28 (11.2%)	207 (82.5%)	9 (3.6%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.4%)								(n/a)										$11,511
Church Hill Elementary School	Public	1-2	2050 W Church Hill Road	West Point	39773	Clay County	West Point Consolidated School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 494-5900	379	27	14.1	89.4%	57 (15.0%)	300 (79.2%)	8 (2.1%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	11 (2.9%)								(n/a)										$11,772

Frequently Asked Questions about Stokes Beard Elementary School

What district is Stokes Beard Elementary School in?

Columbus Municipal School District

What schools do graduates of Stokes Beard Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Stokes Beard Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Columbus Middle School
High : Columbus High School

Is Stokes Beard Elementary School a good school?

Stokes Beard Elementary School ranks in the bottom 5.8% of Mississippi elementary schools.

How many students attend Stokes Beard Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 369 students attended Stokes Beard Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Stokes Beard Elementary School?

Students at Stokes Beard Elementary School are 96% African American, 2% White, 2% Two or more races.

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Latest Mississippi data All new data »

2025–26 MAAP test scoresAug 21, 2026

2023–24 school spending dataSep 26, 2025

2023–24 through 2024–25 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 26, 2025

2023–24 graduation ratesSep 23, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Mississippi Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.