Summary:
Zip code 39328 is home to just one elementary school, KCSD Upper Elementary School, which serves grades 4 and 5 in De Kalb, MS, as part of the Kemper County School District. Because this is the only school in the zip code, the most meaningful comparisons are against the district and state averages, rather than other local schools. The school is notably small, with 108 students, a low student-teacher ratio of 9.5, and 100% of its students eligible for free or reduced lunch, placing it in a high-poverty, rural context.
Academically, KCSD Upper Elementary has placed in the bottom quartile of Mississippi schools for the past three years. Its ranking has improved from the 14th percentile in 2022-2023 to the 20th percentile in 2023-2024, and finally to the 25th percentile in 2024-2025, though it remains a 1-star school. Proficiency rates on the MAAP assessments are consistently below state averages. The most significant concern is 5th grade mathematics, where only 20.0% of students are proficient compared to the state average of 48.3%, a dramatic drop from 4th grade math proficiency at 43.2%. In contrast, 5th grade science is a relative strength at 51.0% proficiency, and 4th grade ELA comes closest to the state average, trailing by just 7.7 points.
There are some positive signs beyond the academic rankings. The school's chronic absenteeism rate stands at 19.7%, which is better than both the district's 26.6% and the state's 23.9%. This suggests strong attendance, which is a vital foundation for learning. However, the combination of a low student-teacher ratio and high attendance has not yet translated into state-level academic success. The slow but steady upward trend in its statewide percentile rank does indicate gradual progress, and the school remains a focal point for targeted interventions given its structural advantages.
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