Collins High School

Collins High School is a combined middle and high school in Collins, Mississippi, serving 373 students in grades 7 through 12 as part of the Covington County School District. The school serves an almost entirely low-income student body, with 99.2% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch in 2024-25. While the student-teacher ratio of 11.9 is favorable, the school faces substantial academic challenges that place it well behind most of Mississippi.

Collins currently ranks 207th out of 224 high schools in the state, putting it in the bottom 8 percent with a 0-star rating. The graduation rate is the most serious concern: after collapsing from 77.6% in 2021-22 to just 52.8% in 2023-24, it recovered to 75.4% in 2024-25 — still about 14 points below the state average of 89.2%. Chronic absenteeism is equally troubling, with nearly half of students (47.8%) missing enough school to be considered chronically absent, roughly double the state rate. Test scores lag the state across every subject: just 29% of students are proficient in English II, 37.7% in Algebra I, and 42.3% in Biology. Middle school scores in grades 7 and 8 also trail state averages, suggesting students arrive at high school already behind.

The comparison to nearby schools highlights how much room there is for improvement. Seminary High School, located only about six miles away and in the same district, ranks in the 62nd percentile with an 85.8% graduation rate — despite serving an almost identical low-income population. Sumrall High School, about 15 miles away, ranks in the 78th percentile with a 91.8% graduation rate. Magee High School and Jefferson Davis County High School are closer to Collins, ranking in the 11th and 13th percentiles respectively. The stark gap between Collins and Seminary — a 122-place ranking difference within one district — shows that poverty alone does not determine outcomes, and that focused work on attendance and literacy could make a real difference for Collins students.