Summary:
The Water Valley School District in Mississippi operates two schools: Davidson Elementary School and Water Valley High School. While the high school is performing relatively well, with proficiency rates at or above the state average in several subjects, the elementary school is struggling, with consistently low test scores across all grade levels and subjects.
Davidson Elementary School has a high-poverty student population, with an extremely high free/reduced lunch rate of over 99%. The school also has a relatively high percentage of minority students, with 44.3% African American and 5.95% two or more races. In contrast, Water Valley High School has a more balanced racial makeup, with 52.52% White and 42.89% African American students. The high school's stronger academic performance may be attributed to its higher per-student spending of $9,512, compared to $7,214 at the elementary school.
Both schools have relatively low student-teacher ratios, with 14.5 students per teacher at Davidson Elementary and 12.4 students per teacher at Water Valley High. However, this smaller class size does not appear to be translating to improved outcomes at the elementary school. The stark contrast in academic performance between the two schools highlights the complex factors that can influence student success, such as poverty, resource allocation, and student demographics.
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