Absence
Four in Ten Mississippi Districts Reported Chronic Absence of at Least 30%
Fifty-seven Mississippi districts reported chronic-absence rates of at least 30% in 2025, showing that high absence crossed district sizes.
Mississippi
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of Mississippi, grounded in Mississippi Department of Education data.
Mississippi's Graduation Report Shows Broad District Gains
Ninety-seven Mississippi districts improved, 79 reached at least 90%, and seven remained below 80% in the state's latest graduation report.
A 16-District Delta Panel Cut Its Graduation Gap to 1.5 Points
A 16-district Delta county-name panel averaged an 88.7% graduation rate in 2026, narrowing its gap with other Mississippi districts to 1.5 points.
Rankin County Kept Chronic Absence Near 14% Across Eight Years
Rankin County's chronic-absence rate changed little across eight years and was the lowest among Mississippi's large districts in 2025.
9 of Mississippi's 10 Highest-Absence Schools Had 'High' in Their Names
Schools with 'High' in their names dominated Mississippi's highest chronic-absence rates and had a higher median than Elementary-named schools.
More Coverage
Absence
Mississippi District Chronic-Absence Rates Spanned 41.6 Points
Mississippi's 143 reported district chronic-absence rates ranged from 5.0% to 46.6% in 2025, with important caveats at the low end.
Absence
DeSoto County Reported Mississippi's Largest District Chronic-Absence Count
DeSoto County reported 11,336 chronically absent students in 2025, the largest count among Mississippi district rows with positive enrollment.
Absence
Claiborne County Cut Absence After Its Peak, but Port Gibson High Remains an Outlier
Claiborne County improved from its pandemic-era peak, but its 2025 rate and Port Gibson High remain Mississippi outliers.
Graduation Rate
Mississippi's Graduation Rate Rebounds to a Record 90.8%
Mississippi's graduation rate rebounded 2.9 points to a record 90.8% in 2026, while 97 of 138 districts improved from 2025.
Graduation Rate
Mississippi's Graduation Rate Reaches 90.8%
Mississippi's 2026 accountability file reports a 90.8% graduation rate for 2024-25, a 17-point rise from the 73.8% rate in the 2014 file.
Grade Shift
Mississippi's Kindergarten Classes Shrank 14%. High Schools Haven't Felt It Yet.
Kindergarten enrollment fell 14.2% since 2016 while 12th grade grew 2.2%. As smaller cohorts age up, high school enrollment will eventually decline too.
Enrollment
87 Mississippi Districts Hit Record-Low Enrollment
More than half of Mississippi's 152 school districts are at their lowest enrollment ever recorded, led by Jackson, Vicksburg, and Meridian.
Covid Impact
Only 12 of 143 Districts Have Recovered from COVID
Mississippi lost 23,390 students in the pandemic year. Five years later, it has lost 18,035 more. Only 12 traditional districts recovered.
School Choice
Mississippi's Charter Sector Hits 1%, but 15% of Jackson
Mississippi's 10 charter schools enroll just 1% of students statewide. In Jackson, six charters now claim 15% of the combined enrollment pool.
Demographics
White Students Fall Below 41% in Mississippi
White enrollment hit a record-low 40.5% of Mississippi public school students in 2026 as both white and Black groups decline.
