Enrollment
251
Elementary
DISTRICT 274 · STATE 446
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WEST TALLAHATCHIE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 280465000872
R.H. Bearden Elementary
6442 Friendship Road West, SUMNER, MS 38957 · (662) 375-8304 · Tallahatchie County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL251 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 9% of Mississippi public elementary schools
- DTest 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
21.0:1
12 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.2:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
248 students
DISTRICT 99% · STATE 80%
Community
0
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 42 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 39 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 31 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 43 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 37 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 35 | 14% |
| Grade 6 | 24 | 10% |
This year's kindergarten class (42) is 75% larger than its 6th grade class (24).
Student demographics
10%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 12% · 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
Students here typically continue to
R.H. Bearden Elementary→West Tallahatchie High School
Based on grade levels within West Tallahatchie School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MAAP 2024-25 . % Proficient + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
27.0%
MS avg 45.9% . +4.2pp since 2023
Math
41.9%
MS avg 52.8% . +7.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the MAAP, Mississippi's statewide test, about 27 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 42 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Mississippi schools, those numbers are about 46 and 53. Reading and writing scores are up about 4 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 8 points.
MAAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 27.0% | 41.9% |
| 2023-24 | 22.8% | 34.2% |
% 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
33.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
44.7%
based on MS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-11.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 33% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 45% 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 R.H. Bearden Elementary
R.H. Bearden Elementary's state test result (33.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| R.H. Bearden Elementary this school | 251 | 98.8% | 33.3% |
| Isable Elementary School Jackson | 244 | 100.0% | 28.5% |
| Como Primary School COMO | 267 | 98.9% | 24.6% |
| Fairview Elementary School Columbus | 244 | 99.6% | 43.9% |
| Ruleville Central Elementary RULEVILLE | 271 | 100.0% | 41.5% |
| West Lowndes Elementary COLUMBUS | 276 | 98.6% | 44.7% |
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 R.H. Bearden Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Mississippi |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 33.3% | #388 of 428 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 41.9% | #285 of 439 ▲ 57 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 27.0% | #394 of 439 ▲ 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 251 | #368 of 453 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.0:1 | #403 of 408 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 10.0% | #375 of 409 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.8% | #175 of 444 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -43.1% | #4 of 296 |
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
251
-72 (-22%) vs 2020
-59% since 1990-91, when it was 608
Student : Teacher
21.0:1
was 17.0:1
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 | 251 | 12 | 21.0:1 | 99% (248) |
| 2023-24 | 244 | 21.5 | 11.3:1 | 100% (244) |
| 2022-23 | 253 | 22.1 | 11.4:1 | 100% (253) |
| 2020-21 | 323 | 19 | 17.0:1 | 99% (320) |
| 2017-18 | 441 | 33.6 | 13.1:1 | 99% (438) |
| 2015-16 | 480 | 31 | 15.5:1 | 99% (477) |
| 2010-11 | 443 | 25 | 17.7:1 | 99% (437) |
| 2000-01 | 832 | 42 | 19.8:1 | 98% (812) |
| 1990-91 | 608 | 30 | 20.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for R.H. Bearden Elementary.
About R.H. Bearden Elementary
R.H. Bearden Elementary is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as an elementary school in SUMNER, Mississippi. Federal data show 251 students enrolled in kindergarten through 6 in 2024-25. On average, elementary schools in Mississippi enroll around 446, and this school is 44% below that mark.
West Tallahatchie School District has 548 students spread across 2 schools.
R.H. Bearden Elementary is 95% Black by enrollment. The remaining shares are 3% multiracial. Census estimates put the Black share of Tallahatchie County's population at about 61%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, R.H. Bearden Elementary scores 10%.
Its ratio of 21.0:1 is based on 12 full-time-equivalent teachers. Elementary schools in Mississippi have an average ratio of 15.9:1. In all, 99% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Tallahatchie County average a similar 99%.
On the allk12 Grade, R.H. Bearden Elementary lands at D, ahead of 9% of Mississippi public elementary schools.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 44.7% for R.H. Bearden Elementary. The school posts 33.3%, 11.4 points below the prediction.
Census data for Tallahatchie County show the median household earns about $37,466 a year, roughly 12% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 20%. Public schools in Tallahatchie County number 7, with about 1,345 students.
R.H. Bearden Elementary is about 1.6 miles from West Tallahatchie High School, its nearest public school. Nearby schools average 41.9% on proficiency, and R.H. Bearden Elementary is below that at 33.3%.
In the federal locale system, R.H. Bearden Elementary is coded Rural: Remote, for schools in rural territory far from an urban area.
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was a 22% decrease, from 323 to 251. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 17.0:1 to 21.0:1.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at R.H. Bearden Elementary. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Tallahatchie County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
11,764
Census ACS
Median income
$37,466
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
12%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
20%
Below federal line
Schools in county
7
1,345 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in West Tallahatchie School District
- West Tallahatchie High SchoolHigh · 297 students
- NORTH DELTA ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLHigh
Nearby schools
- West Tallahatchie High School1.6 mi · 297
- Drew Hunter Middle13.7 mi · 82
- A.W. James Elementary14.4 mi · 219
- Quitman County Elementary17.0 mi · 331
- Charleston Elementary School18.8 mi · 316
- Ruleville Central Elementary18.9 mi · 271
Frequently asked questions
About R.H. Bearden ElementaryHow large is R.H. Bearden Elementary?
R.H. Bearden Elementary enrolls approximately 251 students in grades KG-06.
What grades does R.H. Bearden Elementary serve?
R.H. Bearden Elementary serves grades KG-06.
How many teachers does R.H. Bearden Elementary have?
R.H. Bearden Elementary employs 12 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 21.0:1.
What is the student diversity at R.H. Bearden Elementary?
Student demographics at R.H. Bearden Elementary are roughly 1% White, 1% Hispanic, 95% Black, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees R.H. Bearden Elementary?
R.H. Bearden Elementary is overseen by West Tallahatchie School District in Tallahatchie County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.