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West Lowndes Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-6

303^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 377 Mississippi Elementary Schools

Better than 20% of Mississippi elementary schools

Summary

West Lowndes Elementary is a small PK-6 school in Columbus, Mississippi, serving 276 students in the Lowndes County School District. The district earns a moderate rating, but the school's state ranking has slid from the 51st percentile in 2015-16 to the 20th percentile (1 star) in 2025-26. Nearly all students (98.55%) qualify for free/reduced lunch, yet the school posts a strong chronic absenteeism rate of 14.0%—well below the state average of 23.9%—and an enviable student-to-teacher ratio of 11.1.

Academically, West Lowndes trails its district in nearly every subject. In 2025-26, 4th grade ELA proficiency was just 18.9%, compared with district averages in the 54–66% range, and 3rd grade math proficiency was 29.7% versus a district range of 53.5–57.1%. The one clear bright spot is 5th grade, where math proficiency (54.9%) topped the state average (49.6%) and science has also outperformed district and state averages in recent years. Test scores can swing sharply from year to year—3rd grade ELA jumped from 67.6% proficient in 2023-24 to 21.6% the next year—likely because each small grade cohort has only 30–40 students.

The contrast with New Hope Elementary in the same district is striking: New Hope serves 1,191 students with a 66.75% free/reduced lunch rate and ranks in the 55th percentile, while West Lowndes ranks in the 20th. Among its high-poverty peers in the Columbus Municipal School District—where nearly all schools have roughly 100% poverty—West Lowndes sits in the middle of the pack, performing neither better nor worse than expected. Its low absenteeism and small classes are real assets, but they haven't yet translated into strong test performance. Parents may find that the school does well at getting students to school, while academic outcomes remain a work in progress.

276

Students ?

11.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,813

Per pupil spending ?

98.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1000 Gilmer Wilburn Road
Columbus, MS 39701

(662) 244-5050

District: Lowndes County School District

Racial breakdown:

African American:

97.1%

Hispanic:

1.4%

White:

1.1%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 51st percentile in 2016 → 20th in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Mississippi average (37% vs 53% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (20th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 31 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school37%

District avg59%

Mississippi avg53%

303^rd of 377

Mississippi public elementary schools ?

Bottom 20%▼ down 31 pts since 2016

From top 49% (2016) to bottom 20% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Mississippi Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 2Elementary Schools in the Lowndes County School District

53^rd of 133Lowndes County 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	24.5	303 of 377	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	23.1	312 of 383	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	43.4	225 of 390	42.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.1	245 of 377	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	48.0	201 of 382	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	38.7	227 of 381	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	38.5	248 of 397	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	45.2	222 of 404	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2017	41.2	235 of 406	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2016	50.1	193 of 394	51.0%	★★★☆☆
2015	51.8	172 of 402	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2014	65.9	131 of 394	66.8%	★★★☆☆
2013	67.5	133 of 408	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2012	62.0	159 of 414	61.6%	★★★☆☆
2011	73.0	92 of 418	78.0%	★★★★☆
2010	53.6	193 of 403	52.1%	★★★☆☆
2009	27.8	302 of 392	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	32.4	282 of 394	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Mississippi (2025-2026) ?

Science64%-7 vs state

Mathematics37%-14 vs state

English Language Arts30%-22 vs state

★

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Schools Near West Lowndes 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
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	303^rd of 377 public elementary schools	19.6%		23.1	312^th of 383 public elementary schools	18.5%	9	32.4	18.9	42.0	26.6	29.7	32.4	54.9	33.3	64.5	$15,813
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
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	329^th of 377 public elementary schools	12.7%		23	313^th of 383 public elementary schools	18.3%	16	31.9	32.6			24.5	27.0				$12,452
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
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)
South Side Elementary School	Public	3-4	237 Louis Odneal Road	West Point	39773	Clay County	West Point Consolidated School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 495-6216	337	28	12.0	87.8%	37 (11.0%)	290 (86.1%)	3 (0.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.8%)	23.4	311^th of 377 public elementary schools	17.5%		23.7	308^th of 383 public elementary schools	19.6%	3	26.1	50.0			22.9	31.4				$12,504
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
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

Frequently Asked Questions about West Lowndes Elementary

Is West Lowndes Elementary a good school?

West Lowndes Elementary ranks in the bottom 19.6% of Mississippi elementary schools.

What district is West Lowndes Elementary in?

Lowndes County School District

What is the racial makeup of West Lowndes Elementary?

Students at West Lowndes Elementary are 97% African American, 1% Hispanic, 1% White.

How many students attend West Lowndes Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 276 students attended West Lowndes Elementary.

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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.