1
What's one thing DESOTO CENTRAL PRIMARY gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
792
Elementary
DISTRICT 681 · STATE 446
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DESOTO COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 280132001369
DeSoto Central Primary School
3210 Getwell Rd, Southaven, MS 38672 · (662) 912-1300 · DeSoto County
GRADES PK–02ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL792 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 35% of Mississippi public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Mississippi public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
16.9:1
47 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.3:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
41%
323 students
DISTRICT 51% · STATE 80%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 28 | 4% |
| Kindergarten | 246 | 31% |
| Grade 1 | 218 | 28% |
| Grade 2 | 300 | 38% |
Student demographics
69%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
MAAP 2024-25 . % Proficient + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
59.0%
MS avg 45.9% . -9.3pp since 2023
Math
49.2%
MS avg 52.8% . -10.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the MAAP, Mississippi's statewide test, about 59 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 49 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Mississippi schools, those numbers are about 46 and 53. Reading and writing scores are down about 9 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 10 points.
MAAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 59.0% | 49.2% |
| 2023-24 | 68.3% | 59.6% |
% Proficient + Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: MAAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of MS schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
59.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
73.9%
based on MS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 59% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 74% typical for Mississippi schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like DeSoto Central Primary School
DeSoto Central Primary School's state test result (59.0% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeSoto Central Primary School this school | 792 | 40.8% | 59.0% |
| Della Davidson Elementary School Oxford | 704 | 44.6% | 74.2% |
| DeSoto Central Elementary SOUTHAVEN | 831 | 45.4% | 64.8% |
| Center Hill Elementary School Olive Branch | 788 | 42.0% | 70.8% |
| Pleasant Hill Elementary School Olive Branch | 1,079 | 42.1% | 70.9% |
| Central Elementary School Oxford | 709 | 45.8% | 74.7% |
Matched among Mississippi elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where DeSoto Central Primary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Mississippi | In DeSoto County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 59.0% | #174 of 428 | #12 of 23 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.2% | #224 of 439 ▼ 65 | #14 of 23 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 59.0% | #120 of 439 ▼ 38 | #8 of 23 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 792 | #34 of 453 | #5 of 23 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.9:1 | #336 of 408 | #17 of 23 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.4% | #9 of 409 | #1 of 23 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 40.8% | #424 of 444 | #17 of 23 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +9.1% | #41 of 90 | #4 of 7 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
792
+71 (+10%) vs 2020
+28% since 2010-11, when it was 621
Student : Teacher
16.9:1
was 17.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 792 | 47 | 16.9:1 | 41% (323) |
| 2023-24 | 847 | 67.7 | 12.5:1 | 36% (309) |
| 2022-23 | 876 | 58.9 | 14.9:1 | 100% (873) |
| 2020-21 | 721 | 41 | 17.6:1 | 100% (718) |
| 2017-18 | 726 | 39.1 | 18.6:1 | 30% (218) |
| 2015-16 | 683 | 39 | 17.5:1 | 32% (221) |
| 2010-11 | 621 | 29 | 21.4:1 | 26% (163) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for DeSoto Central Primary School.
About DeSoto Central Primary School
DeSoto Central Primary School is a large elementary school. Its address is in Southaven, Mississippi. Its 792 students are spread across pre-K through 2. The typical figure for elementary schools in Mississippi is about 446 students.
Enrollment across the 39 schools in DeSoto County School District totals 34,934 students.
No single group makes up more than half of enrollment at DeSoto Central Primary School. The largest is White students, at 38%. The remaining students are 37% Black, 12% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, and 4% Asian. Census figures show DeSoto County is about 57% White. DeSoto Central Primary School's diversity index is 69%, against a US figure of 70%.
DeSoto Central Primary School employs 47 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 16.9:1. The school has more students per teacher than the 15.9:1 average for elementary schools in Mississippi. DeSoto Central Primary School's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 41%.
DeSoto Central Primary School is graded C+ by allk12, scoring above 35% of Mississippi public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for DeSoto Central Primary School is -14.9 points, in the bottom 10% of Mississippi. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 59.0%, and the predicted rate is 73.9%.
Within DeSoto County, the median household income is $85,297, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 29% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. DeSoto Central Primary School is one of 43 public schools in the county.
Of nearby public schools, DeSoto Central High School is the closest, at about 2.3 miles. DeSoto Central Primary School has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools with test data average 75.8% proficiency; DeSoto Central Primary School posts 59.0%.
The NCES locale for DeSoto Central Primary School is Rural: Fringe, which covers schools in rural territory close to an urban area.
Enrollment has grown by 71 students since 2020-21, to 792.
Topics for discussion here include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
DeSoto County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
191,301
Census ACS
Median income
$85,297
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
43
34,934 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in DeSoto County School District
- DeSoto Central High SchoolHigh · 2,004 students
- Southaven High SchoolHigh · 1,876 students
- Hernando High SchoolHigh · 1,529 students
- Southaven Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,423 students
- DeSoto Central Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,388 students
- Lewisburg High SchoolHigh · 1,330 students
Other schools in Southaven
- DeSoto Central High SchoolHigh · 2,004 students
- Southaven High SchoolHigh · 1,876 students
- Southaven Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,423 students
- DeSoto Central Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,388 students
- Southaven Intermediate SchoolElementary · 1,046 students
- DeSoto Central ElementaryElementary · 831 students
Nearby schools
- DeSoto Central High School2.3 mi · 2,004
- DeSoto Central Middle School2.4 mi · 1,388
- DeSoto Central Elementary2.4 mi · 831
- Hernando Hills Elementary4.3 mi · 770
- Lewisburg High School4.4 mi · 1,330
- Lewisburg Intermediate School4.4 mi · 606
Frequently asked questions
About DeSoto Central Primary SchoolHow many students attend DeSoto Central Primary School?
DeSoto Central Primary School enrolls approximately 792 students in grades PK-02.
Is DeSoto Central Primary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
DeSoto Central Primary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-02.
How many students per teacher at DeSoto Central Primary School?
Approximately 16.9:1 students per teacher at DeSoto Central Primary School.
What is the student diversity at DeSoto Central Primary School?
Student demographics at DeSoto Central Primary School are roughly 38% White, 12% Hispanic, 37% Black, 4% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is DeSoto Central Primary School public or private?
DeSoto Central Primary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by DeSoto County School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.