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Forest Elementary

Q: Is Forest Elementary a good school?

Forest Elementary ranks 236 th of 377 Mississippi elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-4

236^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 377 Mississippi Elementary Schools

Better than 37% of Mississippi elementary schools

Summary

Forest Elementary is a PK–4 elementary school in Forest, MS, serving approximately 740 students and operating under the Forest Municipal School District. The school has been improving steadily: its state ranking rose from the 17th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 38th percentile in 2025–2026, earning 2 stars. It is a high-poverty school, with 84.5% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch in 2024–2025.

Forest's standout academic strength is 4th-grade mathematics. In 2025–2026, 67.8% of 4th graders scored proficient or above on the state MAAP test — 16 points above the state average (51.5%) and nearly matching Lake Elementary (68.9%). The same cannot be said for reading: 3rd-grade ELA proficiency was just 30.6% (vs. 48.5% statewide) and 4th-grade ELA was 31.4% (vs. 52.4% statewide). That leaves a 36-point gap between 4th-grade math and reading scores — a striking sign that the school's success in math has not carried over into literacy.

Compared with nearby schools, Forest sits in the middle of the pack. Lake Elementary, just 9.5 miles away, far outpaces Forest in reading and 3rd-grade math despite serving an even higher-poverty population (99.1% free/reduced lunch) — evidence that poverty doesn't have to limit achievement. Forest scores above Newton Elementary School and Morton Elementary School, and is roughly on par with Leake County Elementary School. Chronic absenteeism (18.3%) is better than the state average and several nearby schools. One concern is the student-teacher ratio, which jumped from 13.3 to 18.3 in just two years — among the highest in the region — potentially making it harder to provide the early literacy support the school clearly needs.

740

Students ?

18.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,997

Per pupil spending ?

84.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

513 Cleveland Street
Forest, MS 39074

(601) 469-3073

District: Forest Municipal School District

Students who attend Forest Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Hawkins Middle School
High:	Forest High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

51.5%

African American:

38.9%

White:

6.2%

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 40th percentile in 2016 → 37th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Mississippi average (42% vs 50% meeting standards)

!English Language Arts scores 19 pts below the Mississippi average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school42%

District avg42%

Mississippi avg50%

236^th of 377

Mississippi public elementary schools ?

Bottom 37%▼ down 3 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Mississippi Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

107^th of 133Forest 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	38.3	236 of 377	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	30.4	276 of 380	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.1	318 of 380	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	30.0	274 of 358	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	37.7	232 of 355	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	34.6	228 of 352	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	53.9	182 of 354	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	37.6	246 of 351	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2017	35.5	265 of 406	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2016	38.3	236 of 394	40.1%	★★☆☆☆
2015	27.1	304 of 402	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	32.3	300 of 394	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	35.1	286 of 408	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2012	36.1	283 of 414	31.6%	★★☆☆☆
2011	34.0	305 of 418	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	42.0	251 of 403	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2009	28.7	297 of 392	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	24.7	319 of 394	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Mississippi (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics54%+3 vs state

English Language Arts31%-19 vs state

★

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Schools Near Forest Elementary

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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
Forest Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	513 Cleveland Street	Forest	39074	Scott County	Forest Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 469-3073	740	40	18.3	84.5%	46 (6.2%)	288 (38.9%)	381 (51.5%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (3.1%)	38.3	236^th of 377 public elementary schools	37.4%		30.4	276^th of 380 public elementary schools	27.4%	40	30.6	31.4			41.1	67.8				$11,997
Lake Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	200 School Street	Lake	39092	Scott County	Scott County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 775-3011	333	21	15.8	99.1%	170 (51.1%)	135 (40.5%)	11 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (5.1%)	84.9	41^st of 377 public elementary schools	89.1%		84.2	47^th of 380 public elementary schools	87.6%	6	68.4	63.8			66.7	68.9				$9,855
Morton Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	265 E Second Avenue	Morton	39117	Scott County	Scott County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 732-8529	686	38	18.2	99.6%	212 (30.9%)	168 (24.5%)	263 (38.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (6.3%)	27.6	293^rd of 377 public elementary schools	22.3%		31.2	270^th of 380 public elementary schools	28.9%	23	28.7	34.1			52.6	29.1				$8,990
Conehatta Elementary School	Public	K-8	851 Tushka Drive	Conehatta	39057	Newton County	Conehatta Elementary School	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(601) 775-8254	226	31	7.4	98.7%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	226 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Leake County Elementary School	Public	K-6	1280 School Street	Walnut Grove	39189	Leake County	Leake County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 253-2324	317	26	12.1	100.0%	88 (27.8%)	203 (64.0%)	20 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.9%)	40.7	227^th of 377 public elementary schools	39.8%		30.7	273^rd of 380 public elementary schools	28.2%	46	61.0	40.4	45.7	40.9	65.9	38.3	25.7	38.6	60.0	$13,753
Pelahatchie Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	213-B Brooks St.	Pelahatchie	39145	Rankin County	Rankin County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 854-8060	385	31	12.5	70.6%	259 (67.3%)	75 (19.5%)	23 (6.0%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (6.2%)	59.3	150^th of 377 public elementary schools	60.2%		54.8	174^th of 380 public elementary schools	54.2%	24	44.6	52.2	62.9	42.6	42.9	54.6	57.4	55.3	79.7	$12,220
Newton Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	301 W. Tatum Street	Newton	39345	Newton County	Newton Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 683-3979	367	24	15.4	75.2%	18 (4.9%)	277 (75.5%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	66 (18.0%)	15.3	330^th of 377 public elementary schools	12.5%		16	341^st of 380 public elementary schools	10.3%	11	32.0	27.2	34.8		24.0	25.5	41.3		37.0	$12,280

Frequently Asked Questions about Forest Elementary

What district is Forest Elementary in?

Forest Municipal School District

Is Forest Elementary a good school?

Forest Elementary ranks 236^th of 377 Mississippi elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Forest Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 740 students attended Forest Elementary.

What schools do graduates of Forest Elementary attend?

Students who attend Forest Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Hawkins Middle School
High : Forest High School

What is the racial makeup of Forest Elementary?

Students at Forest Elementary are 51% Hispanic, 39% African American, 6% White, 3% Two or more races.

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Schools in Forest, MS

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Latest Mississippi data All new data »

2024–25 attendance dataNewOct 6, 2026

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

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.