Summary:
Zip code 38672 in Southaven, Mississippi, is home to just one middle school: DeSoto Central Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 with an enrollment of 1,388 students and is part of the DeSoto County School District. With only one school in the area, the analysis focuses on how this campus compares to district and state benchmarks.
DeSoto Central Middle School is a high-performing school that exceeds its district in every reported subject and grade for both the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years. Mathematics is the school's clear strength—8th grade math proficiency reached 71.2% in 2025-2026, nearly 20 points above the state average of 51.4%, while 7th grade math hit 71.8% compared to 57.7% statewide. ELA performance is solid but more uneven, with 7th grade ELA coming in at 44.8% (still above both district and state averages), and 8th grade ELA dropping from 62.2% to 53.3% year over year. The school also posts a chronic absenteeism rate of just 18.0%, far better than the district's 26.4% and the state's 23.9%, which likely contributes to its strong academic results.
Despite these strengths, year-over-year declines are worth watching. Between 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, proficiency fell in most subjects, including drops of 8.3 points in 6th grade math and 8.9 points in 8th grade ELA. The school's statewide ranking has slipped from the 92nd percentile in 2023-2024 to the 80th percentile in 2025-2026, and its star rating dropped from 5 stars to 4 stars. With 41.86% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, the school serves a moderately economically diverse population while still outperforming district and state averages—a meaningful accomplishment. DeSoto Central remains a strong, above-average middle school, but these recent trends are the key factors to monitor in the coming years.
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