Summary:
In zip code 39475, there is one middle school, Purvis Middle School, serving grades 6 through 8 with an enrollment of 447 students in the Lamar County School District. Purvis Middle School is a strong 4-star school, ranking 58th out of 260 Mississippi middle schools (78th percentile) for the 2025–2026 school year, and its district ranks 30th out of 134 districts statewide.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that Purvis Middle School excels in mathematics. In 2025–2026, math proficiency was 68.0% in 6th grade, 70.9% in 7th grade, and 63.7% in 8th grade — all well above both district and state averages. Science is also a bright spot, with 8th-grade proficiency at 66.4%, beating the district’s 62.8% and the state’s 57.8%. However, English Language Arts (ELA) is a clear area for improvement, especially in 7th grade, where only 37.8% of students were proficient — a striking 33.1 percentage point gap compared to 7th grade math. The school’s state rank has fluctuated: it was 50th in 2023–2024, dropped to 79th in 2024–2025, and rebounded to 58th in 2025–2026, so performance has been somewhat volatile but consistently solid.
One concern for families is chronic absenteeism, which sits at 23.3% — above the district rate of 18.6% and nearly matching the state average of 23.9%. This means about one in four students is chronically absent, which could impact academic growth, particularly in ELA. The school serves a majority economically disadvantaged population, with 51.9% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch. Despite this, the school’s strong math and science outcomes suggest effective instruction in those subjects. Overall, Purvis Middle School is a solid choice for families seeking a school with strong math and science programs, but it has clear opportunities to strengthen literacy and attendance for even better results.
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