Best Public Schools in Zip Code 39773

In West Point, Mississippi (zip code 39773), five schools serve the community's PK-12 students as part of the West Point Consolidated School District, a high-poverty district where about 88% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The district ranks in the 45th percentile statewide, but individual schools vary widely. Fifth Street School is the clear standout: it has risen from the 42nd to the 61st percentile over three years, with 6th and 7th grade math proficiency well above state averages, and its chronic absenteeism (23.6%) is near the state norm. In contrast, South Side Elementary has fallen from the 37th to the 18th percentile, with 3rd grade math and ELA proficiency roughly 25 points below state averages. West Point High School is the largest school but the most fragile, with a 75.6% graduation rate and a chronic absenteeism rate of 41.8% — nearly double the state average — which likely drives its weak end-of-course results.

Across the district, math is a relative strength while English Language Arts is a consistent weakness. For example, Fifth Street's 7th grade math is at 65.4% proficiency versus 57.7% statewide, and West Point High's 8th grade math slightly exceeds the state. But nearly every ELA score trails, including 8th grade ELA at 23.6% (state 40.9%) and English II at just 34.7% (state 49.3%). There are also dramatic grade-level swings within the same school—Fifth Street's 5th grade math is 21% proficient while its 6th grade math jumps to 65.8%—suggesting cohort or curriculum issues worth investigating. Meanwhile, East Side Elementary (PK-K) and Church Hill Elementary (1-2) have no proficiency data, leaving the district's earliest grades invisible; East Side also has the highest poverty rate (92.4%) and the largest class sizes.

Chronic absenteeism rises sharply by grade level, from 15.8% at East Side to 41.8% at West Point High. Fifth Street is the district's success story, while South Side is sliding — both serve similar high-poverty populations, so demographics don't tell the whole story. For parents, the key takeaway is that the district has pockets of strong math instruction, a systemic literacy challenge, and a serious high school attendance problem that directly threatens graduation outcomes.