DCS schools earn “A” grade, highest graduation rate in history

Sep 17, 2024 – DeSoto County Schools officials are touting the district’s highest graduation rate ever in the 2023-2024 Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) Accountability Report released on Tuesday.  

Of the Class of 2024, 94,1 percent received high school diplomas for continuing for all four years of their high school education. The district’s dropout rate was 5.2 percent.  

All of the district’s eight high schools graduated over 90 percent of the senior class last May, led by Lewisburg High School at 99.0 percent, down to Horn Lake High School at 92.1 percent  

Of dropouts, percentages ranged from Lewisburg’s 1.0 percent to 7.6 percent at Horn Lake.  

Supt. Cory Uselton said in prepared statements following the MDE release of the accountability report that the 94.1 percent graduation rate was the highest in the district’s history.  

“I am so proud of our students, teachers, administrators, and staff,” Uselton said. “This is a total team effort and we are very fortunate to have tremendous support from our parents and the entire DeSoto County community.”

Testing and grade results are compiled each by state education officials to determine a performance grade for each school district in Mississippi that MDE oversees.  

“The Mississippi Statewide Accountability System assigns a performance rating of A, B, C, D, and F for each school and district based on established criteria regarding student achievement, individual student growth, graduation rate, and participation rate, states MDE. “Statewide assessments are used to measure proficiency and growth in proficiency for students in grades 3-8 and high school students taking end-of-course subject area assessments in Algebra I, English II, Biology, and U.S. History.”

DeSoto County Schools again were graded as an “A” district under the state accountability assessment scoring with a total of 711. Of Mississippi districts, Ocean Springs scored the highest at 798 points, followed by Petal at 791 and Long Beach at 782. Clinton and Bay St. Louis Waveland completed the top five districts in Mississippi.  

None of the eight DeSoto County high schools scored lower than a “B” and five of the eight schools were graded as “A” schools.  Southaven, Lake Cormorant and Horn Lake were the three schools graded as a “B” school.  Lewisburg earned the highest score among county high schools at 856, which was the fourth-highest score among all state high schools graded.  

“Our students, teachers, administrators, and staff faced many challenges, and these accountability results show how hard everyone worked to overcome those obstacles,” Uselton said. “Our teachers, administrators, and staff went the extra mile to ensure that our students could reach their goals.”

Following are the lists of high school graduation and drop out rates for the eight DCS schools, plus a listing of schools compiled under their grades and how they scored.  

High schools were scored on a 1,000 point scale, while the other schools were on a 700 point scale.  

In addition, links are provided here for the MDE report on graduation and dropout rates, and a spreadsheet with the scoring of each school’s accountability assessments.  

Graduation and dropout rates

School accountability assessments

Graduation-dropout rates

• Center Hill: 94.6-5.0
• DeSoto Central: 94.6-4.9
• Hernando: 93.9-4.5
• Horn Lake: 92.1-7.6
• Lake Cormorant: 93.0-5.7
• Lewisburg: 99.0-1.0
• Olive Branch: 95.5-4.1
• Southaven: 92.2-6.8

Grade A schools

• Lewisburg Primary (583)
• Lewisburg Elementary (580)
• Lewisburg Intermediate (574)
• Hernando Hills Elementary (517)
• Pleasant Hill Elementary (513)
• Lewisburg Middle (506)
• Hernando Elementary (504)
• Hernando Middle (502)
• Oak Grove Central Elementary (498)
• DeSoto Central Middle (482)
• Center Hill Middle (480)
• Greenbrook Elementary (472)
• Lake Cormorant Elementary (471)
• Center Hill Elementary (468)
• DeSoto Central Elementary (459)
• Southaven Intermediate (449)
• Olive Branch Elementary (447)
• DeSoto Central Primary (447)

Grade B schools

• Hope Sullivan Elementary (431)
• Shadow Oaks Elementary (415)
• Walls Elementary (410)
• Chickasaw Elementary (410)
• Overpark Elementary (403)
• Horn Lake Intermediate (395)
• Horn Lake Elementary (394)
• Olive Branch Middle (393)
• Southaven Elementary (392)
• Olive Branch Intermediate (385)

Grade C Schools

• Horn Lake Middle (360)

Grade A high schools

• Lewisburg (856)
• Olive Branch (808)
• Hernando (772)
• DeSoto Central (758)
• Center Hill (757)

Grade B high schools

• Southaven (751)
• Lake Cormorant (743)
• Horn Lake (690)