Summary:
Zip code 38659, a rural area in Mississippi, is home to just one public high school, Potts Camp High School, which serves grades 5 through 12 and is part of the Marshall County School District. With 356 students and a very low student-teacher ratio of 10.5:1, this small school provides relatively small class sizes, but it serves an almost universally low-income student body, as 99.16% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Potts Camp presents a mixed academic picture. Its graduation rate of 94.5% stands above both the district (87.9%) and state (89.2%), and it outperforms state averages in several 2025–2026 subject areas, including English II (62.9% proficient vs. 49.3% statewide) and 8th grade science (59.6% vs. 57.8%). However, its overall state ranking has slipped to 169th out of 224 schools (bottom quarter), and average MAAP proficiency is well below the state average. The most concerning results are in 7th grade, where only 14% of students are proficient in ELA and 21% in math, compared to state averages of 36.7% and 57.7% respectively. Chronic absenteeism is also a challenge, affecting one in four students, slightly above the state rate.
Test scores at Potts Camp are highly volatile from year to year, likely due to small class sizes and distinct cohort effects. For example, Algebra I proficiency plummeted from 80.6% in 2024–25 to 29.2% in 2025–26, while English II jumped from 36.4% to 62.9% over the same period. These swings make it difficult to judge the school on any single year alone. The combination of near-universal poverty, above-average chronic absenteeism, and a middle-school-in-a-high-school structure helps explain why the school’s overall proficiency remains low despite a favorable student-teacher ratio. For parents, Potts Camp is a school with a strong record of graduating students and some clear subject-area bright spots, but one that faces significant academic challenges, especially in the middle grades.
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