Summary:
Zip code 38856 contains a single elementary school: Marietta Elementary School, a PK–8 campus serving 270 students in Marietta, Mississippi, within the Prentiss County School District. With no other elementary schools in the area to compare directly, this summary highlights how the school performs against district and state averages.
Marietta Elementary consistently outperforms both its district and the state in most subjects. In the 2025–2026 school year, mathematics proficiency reached 71.1%, compared to 52.0% statewide; science proficiency hit 80.6%, versus 64.7% statewide; and English Language Arts proficiency was 58.2%, versus 47.1% statewide. These results are especially notable given that nearly 68% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch, a common indicator of economic disadvantage. Small class sizes likely help, with a student-teacher ratio of just 11:1. Chronic absenteeism is another major strength at 8.9%, dramatically lower than the district's 14.5% and the state's 23.9%. Students are in class more consistently, and that consistency appears to pay off in test scores.
Mathematics is the school's clear academic strength. Marietta Elementary beat the state average in every grade-level math test, including an impressive 88.9% proficiency rate in 6th grade. Science is also a standout, topping the state by 16 points. Because the school is small, individual grade cohorts can cause large year-to-year swings—8th grade math jumped from 36.8% to 63.7% in one year, while 4th grade math fell from 87.5% to 56.0%. A few isolated weakness areas exist, such as 3rd grade ELA at 46.7%, but these are exceptions. The school's statewide ranking has drifted from a 94th-percentile 5-star peak in 2023–2024 down to an 82nd-percentile 4-star ranking in 2025–2026, yet Marietta Elementary remains a high-performing school and a strong option for families in the 38856 area.
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