West Tallahatchie High School is one of only 48 high schools around Mississippi to receive prestigious 2021 College Success Award recognition from GreatSchools.org for excelling at preparing students to enroll and succeed in college as determined by available data.
GreatSchools.org is the nation’s leading nonprofit providing school information to parents and families and has conducted the College Success Award annually since 2018.
West Tally was a "College Success Award-Gold" honoree.
According to data provided with the award report, 85% of WTHS graduates enrolled in an institution of higher learning, whereas the state average is 72%. Furthermore, 87% of West Tally graduates completed their first year of college and returned for a second year, compared to the state average of 79%.
Mississippi schools recognized for 2021 are among 1,838 high schools from 25 states that demonstrated a successful track record of graduating students who enroll in two- or four-year college, are ready for college-level coursework, and persist on to their second year.
School, district and state education leaders in these 25 states were undeterred by the pandemic’s challenges and provided the critical data transparency needed to help communities understand paths to success from high school to college.
The College Success Award is possible because Mississippi is among states leading the nation in both collecting and transparently sharing information on how students perform after high school, which is valuable information for families, educators and policymakers.
“We applaud Mississippi schools for prioritizing high-quality public education, putting students on the path to bright futures,” said Jon Deane, CEO of GreatSchools.org. “Over the past two years, students, parents, teachers and communities have relied on one another like never before. We congratulate and thank everyone for their unwavering pursuit of college success for all students.”
To learn more about the College Success Award and view the complete list of winners, visit www.greatschools.org/mississippi/college-success-award/.
Editor's note: The original version of this story stated that 70 schools in Mississippi had received the College Success Award recognition, but in an April 1 email, Megan Walcek, senior manager of communications for GreatSchools.org, said, "The Mississippi Department of Education misinterpreted the data for the awards when they stated that 70 schools had won. The actual number of unique MS high schools that won College Success Awards is 48 schools."
