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H. W. Byers Elementary

Q: Is H. W. Byers Elementary a good school?

H. W. Byers Elementary ranks 270 th of 377 Mississippi elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades K-4

270^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 377 Mississippi Elementary Schools

Better than 28% of Mississippi elementary schools

Summary

H. W. Byers Elementary is a small rural school in Holly Springs, Mississippi, serving 262 students in grades K–4 as part of the Marshall County School District. Nearly all students (98.85%) qualify for free or reduced lunch, making it one of the highest-poverty elementary schools in the region.

Despite its overall low statewide ranking, the school has a clear bright spot: 4th grade English Language Arts. In 2025–26, 57.1% of 4th graders were proficient, beating the state average (52.4%) and outpacing nearby schools like Olive Branch Intermediate School (37.5%) and Ashland Elementary School (48.8%), even though those schools serve fewer low-income students. The 4th grade ELA score has climbed steadily from 23.8% in 2023–24. However, 3rd grade results are a serious concern. Only 18.9% of 3rd graders were proficient in math — far below the state average and every nearby school with comparable data, including Byhalia Elementary School (23.5%) and Holly Springs Primary School (30.1%). Third grade ELA is also weak at 24.5%. This dramatic gap between 3rd and 4th grade suggests a challenging 3rd grade cohort or particularly effective 4th grade instruction.

Chronic absenteeism has improved significantly, falling from 40.9% in 2021–22 to 22.8% in 2023–24, though about 1 in 4 students still miss substantial school time. The student-teacher ratio also rose from 12.1 to 16.7 in the past year, meaning somewhat larger class sizes. For parents, the takeaway is that H. W. Byers has proven it can achieve strong literacy results in upper elementary, but early-grade math and reading need attention. Strengthening 3rd grade performance would likely lift the school's overall ranking and better prepare students for the success already evident in 4th grade.

262

Students ?

16.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,105

Per pupil spending ?

98.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4178 Highway 72 East
Holly Springs, MS 38659

(662) 851-7826

District: Marshall County School District

Racial breakdown:

African American:

46.9%

White:

27.1%

Hispanic:

22.1%

See top rated Mississippi elementary schools

Compare H. W. Byers Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 19th percentile in 2016 → 28th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 9 percentile points since 2016

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Mississippi average (36% vs 50% meeting standards)

!Mathematics scores 20 pts below the Mississippi average

!Near the bottom of Marshall County School District's ranking

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school36%

District avg38%

Mississippi avg50%

270^th of 377

Mississippi public elementary schools ?

Bottom 28%▲ up 10 pts since 2016

From bottom 19% (2016) to bottom 28% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Mississippi Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 4Elementary Schools in the Marshall County School District

82^nd of 133Marshall 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	31.5	270 of 377	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	21.3	324 of 383	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.1	290 of 390	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.3	340 of 377	9.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	33.3	257 of 382	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	21.6	289 of 381	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.1	292 of 397	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.0	311 of 404	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	15.1	364 of 406	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	22.5	321 of 394	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	25.7	310 of 402	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	34.9	278 of 394	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	44.7	237 of 408	41.9%	★★☆☆☆
2012	22.9	358 of 414	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	37.0	291 of 418	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2010	27.0	317 of 403	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	15.0	356 of 392	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	20.4	338 of 394	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Mississippi (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts41%-9 vs state

Mathematics30%-20 vs state

1.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, February 16, 2011

VIOLENCE, as well as the worst teacher performance I've ever witnessed. My 3rd grade son came home in January 2011, with a spelling word of...are you ready for this...CORN!! Really?? CORN is a T-H-I-R-D grade spelling word???? Don't waste your time trying to get your child an education here. GO AND HOMESCHOOL! This week 2/14/11 a math problem contained the word "DOZEN." Once again, I had to explain another key word that should have been taught in Kindergarten or First grade. Close Quote

Schools Near H. W. Byers 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
H. W. Byers Elementary	Public	K-4	4178 Highway 72 East	Holly Springs	38659	Marshall County	Marshall County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 851-7826	262	16	16.7	98.9%	71 (27.1%)	123 (46.9%)	58 (22.1%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.4%)	31.5	270^th of 377 public elementary schools	28.4%		21.3	324^th of 383 public elementary schools	15.4%	54	24.5	57.1			18.9	41.0				$11,105
Byhalia Elementary School	Public	K-4	172 Highway 309 North	Byhalia	38611	Marshall County	Marshall County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 838-6980	515	32	16.2	99.4%	132 (25.6%)	205 (39.8%)	142 (27.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (7.0%)	33.2	259^th of 377 public elementary schools	31.3%		20.8	328^th of 383 public elementary schools	14.4%	69	33.7	52.7			23.5	43.1				$10,052
Holly Springs Primary School	Public	PK, KG-3	405 South Maury St	Holly Springs	38635	Marshall County	Holly Springs School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 252-1768	332	18	18.3	94.0%	9 (2.7%)	297 (89.5%)	6 (1.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.7%)								(n/a)	46.0				30.1					$12,950
Center Hill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	13662 Center Hill Road	Olive Branch	38654	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 890-7705	788	47	16.9	42.0%	325 (41.2%)	321 (40.7%)	77 (9.8%)	23 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	39 (4.9%)	74.3	88^th of 377 public elementary schools	76.7%		76.1	76^th of 383 public elementary schools	80.2%	12	50.9	67.7	49.3		75.0	75.6	65.4		77.2	$9,326
Overpark Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	8530 Forest Hill Irene Road	Olive Branch	38654	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 890-8745	635	43	14.7	52.6%	203 (32.0%)	296 (46.6%)	86 (13.5%)	13 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (5.8%)	47.2	197^th of 377 public elementary schools	47.7%		69	115^th of 383 public elementary schools	70.0%	82	51.4	54.6	54.4		41.2	45.3	35.1		65.8	$10,257
Ashland Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	768 Lamar Road	Ashland	38603	Benton County	Benton County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 224-6622	262	18	14.4	93.9%	46 (17.6%)	119 (45.4%)	16 (6.1%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	80 (30.5%)	33.7	256^th of 377 public elementary schools	32.1%		26.2	298^th of 383 public elementary schools	22.2%	42	25.1	48.8	29.7	48.0	31.3	69.2	13.5	36.0	64.8	$12,289
Olive Branch Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-1	9549 E Pigeon Roost	Olive Branch	38654	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 895-2256	504	30	16.8	59.3%	180 (35.7%)	210 (41.7%)	63 (12.5%)	5 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (8.9%)								(n/a)										$11,397
Chickasaw Elementary School	Public	2-3	6391 Chickasaw Drive	Olive Branch	38654	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 895-6664	500	33	15.1	63.8%	177 (35.4%)	223 (44.6%)	51 (10.2%)	10 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (7.8%)								(n/a)	37.3				26.2					$11,316
Olive Branch Intermediate School	Public	4-5	8631 E. Pigeon Roost	Olive Branch	38654	DeSoto County	Desoto County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 893-1221	472	29	16.2	62.9%	169 (35.8%)	215 (45.6%)	48 (10.2%)	4 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (7.4%)	41.8	222^nd of 377 public elementary schools	41.1%		47	204^th of 383 public elementary schools	46.7%	18		37.5	55.0			36.7	46.3		69.6	$10,717

Frequently Asked Questions about H. W. Byers Elementary

What district is H. W. Byers Elementary in?

Marshall County School District

How many students attend H. W. Byers Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 262 students attended H. W. Byers Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of H. W. Byers Elementary?

Students at H. W. Byers Elementary are 47% African American, 27% White, 22% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races.

Is H. W. Byers Elementary a good school?

H. W. Byers Elementary ranks 270^th of 377 Mississippi elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Rate H. W. Byers 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.