Summary:
Zip code 38614 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, is served by two public high schools—Clarksdale High School (grades 10–12, 473 students) and Coahoma County High School (grades 9–12, 345 students)—both operating in an extremely high-poverty area where 99% to 100% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. These schools are part of the Clarksdale Municipal School District and the Coahoma County School District, respectively, and both rank in the bottom tier of Mississippi high schools, with proficiency rates far below state averages in most subjects.
Despite those challenges, the two schools tell very different stories. Coahoma County High School stands out for its graduation rate of 90.7%, which beats the state average of 89.2%, and its chronic absenteeism rate of 29.8%—much better than Clarksdale High School's 57.1% and relatively close to the state's 23.9%. Coahoma also posted a U.S. History proficiency rate of 69.7%, exactly matching the state average. Meanwhile, Clarksdale High School has shown a slight upward trend in state ranking over three years and outperformed Coahoma in 2025–2026 in English II (29.7% vs. 21.0%) and Biology (27.8% vs. 21.7%).
Academic proficiency is a major concern at both schools, with Algebra I scores around 25–26% versus the state's 66%, and scores in English II and Biology trailing by 30 to 45 percentage points. Test results also swing sharply from year to year—Coahoma's Biology proficiency fell from 36.0% to 21.7% in one year, while Clarksdale's Biology jumped from 11.7% to 27.8%—so a single year's score can be misleading. Coahoma has a better student-teacher ratio (13.8 vs. 16.9), but smaller classes don't clearly translate into higher test scores. For parents, the key takeaway is that Coahoma County High School leads in graduation and attendance, while Clarksdale High School shows relative stability and stronger recent English performance—both offering specific strengths to build on despite the difficult circumstances.
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