Best High Schools in Zip Code 39428

Zip code 39428 is home to exactly one high school: Collins High School, a combined 7th–12th grade campus in Collins, Mississippi, serving 373 students as part of the Covington County School District.

Collins High School serves an almost entirely high-poverty student body, with 99.2% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, and it faces serious systemic challenges. The school’s state ranking has been volatile, falling from the 25th percentile in 2024–2025 to just the 8th percentile in 2025–2026, placing it among the lowest-performing high schools in Mississippi. Chronic absenteeism is a critical concern: 47.8% of students are chronically absent, more than double the state average of 23.9%. The graduation rate is 75.4%, roughly 14 points below the state rate of 89.2% and well under the district’s 82.3%. On the most recent MAAP assessments, Collins High School scored below both the district and the state in every subject. The largest gaps are in Algebra I (37.7% proficient vs. 66.0% statewide) and English II (29.0% vs. 49.3% statewide).

There are a few encouraging signs in the year-over-year data: 8th grade English Language Arts proficiency improved dramatically from 18.2% to 32.2%, and 7th grade math improved from 42.9% to 48.9%. However, the high school end-of-course exams moved in the opposite direction, with Algebra I, English II, and Biology all declining sharply. Collins High School sits far below its own district, which ranks near the middle of Mississippi districts, indicating that the school is a significant underperformer even in its local context. While its 11.9 student-teacher ratio is relatively favorable, nearly half of students missing substantial instructional time makes academic progress very difficult. For parents, this is a school with a caring structure on paper but urgent needs in attendance, high school course mastery, and graduation outcomes.