Summary:
Zip code 39475 in Mississippi contains 4 schools serving 1,886 students in grades PK-12, all part of the Lamar County School District, a 4-star district ranked 30th out of 134 districts statewide. The four campuses form a complete learning pathway: Purvis Lower Elementary (PK-2), Purvis Upper Elementary (3-5), Purvis Middle School (6-8), and Purvis High School (9-12).
Purvis Middle School is the clear standout, holding the only 4-star rating in the zip code and ranking 58th out of 260 Mississippi middle schools. Its math results are exceptional, with 7th grade math proficiency at 70.9%—more than 13 points above the state average—and it beats the district in every middle school math subject. Purvis High School has slipped to a 3-star rating, ranking 76th out of 224 high schools, with chronic absenteeism of 28.6% a major concern. Purvis Upper Elementary is a solid 3-star school that posted strong 5th grade science results (75.2% proficiency) and made a dramatic 16-point jump in 5th grade math, though its ELA scores still trail the district. Purvis Lower Elementary has no recent test data but records the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the area at 15.3%.
All four schools serve similar demographics, with free/reduced lunch eligibility between roughly 50% and 55%, and student-teacher ratios are favorable across the board, ranging from 12.5 at the high school to 15.0 at the lower elementary. Chronic absenteeism rises sharply with grade level—from about 15% in elementary schools to 23.3% in middle school and 28.6% at the high school, which maintains a graduation rate of 89.9%. High school Algebra I proficiency also dropped 11.7 points in one year, from 76.2% to 64.5%, now trailing both district and state averages. These attendance and subject-specific challenges, rather than poverty levels alone, appear to drive the differences in school performance across the zip code.
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