Summary:
In zip code 39074, there is exactly one high school: Forest High School, a public school in Forest, MS serving grades 9–12 with 438 students and part of the Forest Municipal School District.
Forest High School is a high-poverty school, with nearly 87% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch and a favorable student-teacher ratio of 13.5 to 1. Academically, the school has posted mixed but encouraging results. In 2025–26, proficiency rates in Biology jumped to 55.1% (up 19.5 points from the prior year) and English II rose to 37.8% (up 12.2 points), while Algebra I fell to 39.8% — leaving a 26.2-point gap with the state average. The school’s U.S. History proficiency rate of 69.5% in 2024–25 was essentially tied with the state’s 69.7%. These gains helped lift the school’s Schooldigger ranking from the 15th percentile in 2024–25 to the 25th percentile in 2025–26, though it remains a 1-star school.
Chronic absenteeism is a significant concern: 39.8% of students were chronically absent in 2023–24, compared to 23.9% statewide. The graduation rate of 78.3% trails the state by 10.9 points, yet it is not as low as the test scores might suggest — possibly due to credit recovery or flexible pathways. With 86.76% of students economically disadvantaged, poverty-related challenges like absenteeism and limited resources likely play a big role. Still, the recent improvement in Biology and English II, along with the rising ranking, suggests Forest High School may be on a positive trajectory, even while math achievement remains the school’s most urgent area for growth.
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