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What's the biggest difference between PETAL HIGH SCHOOL and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,324
High
DISTRICT 851 · STATE 651
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PETAL SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 280353001068
Petal High School
1145 HIGHWAY 42 E, PETAL, MS 39465 · (601) 545-1229 · Forrest County
GRADES 09–13HIGH23-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,324 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 94% of Mississippi public high schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats 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 high schools
Student : Teacher
12.8:1
103 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.0:1 · STATE 12.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
55%
726 students
DISTRICT 60% · STATE 80%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 348 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 357 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 356 | 27% |
| Grade 12 | 260 | 20% |
Student demographics
50%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 49% · 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
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Petal School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MAAP 2024-25 . % Proficient + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
67.6%
MS avg 45.9% . -3.0pp since 2023
Math
85.6%
MS avg 52.8% . -4.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the MAAP, Mississippi's statewide test, about 68 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 86 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 3 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 5 points.
MAAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 67.6% | 85.6% |
| 2023-24 | 70.6% | 90.3% |
% Proficient + Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: MAAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
79.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
66.8%
based on MS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+12.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 79% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 67% typical for Mississippi schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Mississippi's top nor bottom 10%.
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 Petal High School
Petal High School's state test result (79.2% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petal High School this school | 1,324 | 54.8% | 79.2% |
| George County High School LUCEDALE | 1,115 | 52.5% | 71.2% |
| South Jones High School Ellisville | 1,300 | 64.5% | 64.6% |
| Hancock High School Kiln | 1,184 | 59.5% | 76.5% |
| Picayune Memorial High School Picayune | 940 | 62.7% | 65.8% |
| PEARL RIVER CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL CARRIERE | 952 | 54.7% | 69.7% |
Matched among Mississippi high 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 Petal High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Mississippi |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 79.2% | #13 of 192 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 85.6% | #17 of 199 ▼ 13 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 67.6% | #19 of 199 ▼ 11 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,324 | #19 of 203 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.8:1 | #102 of 192 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 49.8% | #86 of 192 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 54.8% | #156 of 194 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +10.3% | #27 of 63 |
Ranked against other public high 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
1,324
+157 (+13%) vs 2020
+61% since 1990-91, when it was 822
Student : Teacher
12.8:1
was 13.7:1
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 | 1,324 | 103.1 | 12.8:1 | 55% (726) |
| 2023-24 | 1,335 | 94.9 | 14.1:1 | 54% (717) |
| 2022-23 | 1,288 | 91.7 | 14.1:1 | 100% (1,285) |
| 2020-21 | 1,167 | 85 | 13.7:1 | 100% (1,164) |
| 2017-18 | 1,200 | 84.9 | 14.1:1 | 53% (640) |
| 2015-16 | 1,209 | 88 | 13.7:1 | 56% (677) |
| 2010-11 | 1,148 | 82 | 14.0:1 | 48% (548) |
| 2000-01 | 1,061 | 73 | 14.5:1 | 42% (443) |
| 1990-91 | 822 | 49 | 16.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Petal High School.
About Petal High School
In PETAL, Mississippi, part of Forrest County, Petal High School is a high school. The school's 1,324 students are in grades 9 through 13. Statewide, high schools in Mississippi average about 651 students each.
Petal School District enrolls 4,253 students, and its 5 schools include Petal High School.
A majority of students at Petal High School, 68%, are White. Other reported shares: 18% Black, 10% Hispanic, and 4% multiracial. Forrest County's residents are about 57% White, 11 points below the school's share. Petal High School has a diversity index of 50%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Teachers at Petal High School total 103.1 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 12.8:1. Across high schools in Mississippi, the average ratio is about 12.6:1. Federal records put free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at 55%. It compares with 79% for public schools in Forrest County.
Petal High School is graded A by allk12, scoring above 94% of Mississippi public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Petal High School posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 79.2%, compared with a predicted 66.8%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Mississippi schools on BeatsExpectations.
Across Forrest County, median household income is about $53,640, roughly 31% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 16%. The public schools of Forrest County number 21 and enroll about 10,857.
Petal Elementary 3-4 is the public school closest to Petal High School, about 0.1 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are 4 other public schools. On average proficiency, Petal High School is 1st of 9 nearby schools with test data.
Under the NCES locale system, Petal High School is Suburb: Small.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Petal High School went from 1,167 students to 1,324.
Topics for discussion here include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Forrest County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
78,272
Census ACS
Median income
$53,640
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
21
10,857 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Petal School District
- Petal Primary SchoolElementary · 1,016 students
- Petal Middle SchoolMiddle · 645 students
- Petal Elementary 3-4Elementary · 636 students
- Petal Upper ElementaryMiddle · 632 students
Other schools in PETAL
- Petal Primary SchoolElementary · 1,016 students
- Petal Middle SchoolMiddle · 645 students
- Petal Elementary 3-4Elementary · 636 students
- Petal Upper ElementaryMiddle · 632 students
- Runnelstown SchoolElementary · 173 students
Nearby schools
- Petal Elementary 3-40.1 mi · 636
- Petal Primary School0.5 mi · 1,016
- Petal Upper Elementary3.3 mi · 632
- Petal Middle School3.3 mi · 645
- Runnelstown School5.7 mi · 173
- Hawkins Elementary5.7 mi · 283
Frequently asked questions
About Petal High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Petal High School?
Petal High School enrolls approximately 1,324 students in grades 09-13.
Is Petal High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Petal High School is a high school covering grades 09-13.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Petal High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Petal High School is approximately 12.8:1 (103 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Petal High School?
Student demographics at Petal High School are roughly 68% White, 10% Hispanic, 18% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Petal High School public or private?
Petal High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Petal School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.