5 MS Coast high schools make the top 10 in prestigious state rankings — including No. 1.

Martha Sanchez
·2 min read
16

Mississippi Coast high schools have received a glowing report: five in Jackson and Harrison counties recently made a list of the top 10 in the state.

The ranking, compiled by U.S. News & World Report, chose Mississippi’s best public high schools this year based on how well they prepare students for college. It measures schools through students’ Advanced Placement test scores and average scores on state-required assessments, and also considers the percent of students who are Black, Hispanic and low-income.

U.S. News ranked Ocean Springs High School first in the state.

Ocean Springs High School main building on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021.
Ocean Springs High School main building on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021.

Nearly half of students there take Advanced Placement, or AP, classes and 28% of enrolled students are minorities, U.S. News said. It also classified 100% of students there as “economically disadvantaged.”

The ranking was a step-up for Ocean Springs High School, which ranked second in the state in 2023, the district said in a post announcing the ranking on social media. In 2024 national rankings, Ocean Springs High School ranked 682th.

Pass Christian High School ranked fourth in Mississippi.

Pass Christian High School in Pass Christian on Tuesday, July 12, 2022.
Pass Christian High School in Pass Christian on Tuesday, July 12, 2022.

Thirty-five percent of its students take AP classes, according to U.S. News. Forty percent of students are minorities, and U.S. News also said all students at the high school are economically disadvantaged. In national rankings, Pass Christian ranked 2,028th.

Three other Coast schools made the top 10. West Harrison High School in Gulfport ranked seventh in the state, Biloxi High School ranked eighth and Long Beach Senior High School ranked ninth.

Here’s where Coast schools fell in the U.S. News state ranking of Mississippi’s 241 public high schools:

1. Ocean Springs High School

4. Pass Christian High School

7. West Harrison High School

8. Biloxi High School

9. Long Beach Senior High School

12. Pascagoula High School

16. Gautier High School

17. St Martin High School

19. D’Iberville High School

24. Gulfport High School

26. Hancock High School

31. Harrison Central High School

42. East Central High School

63. Bay High School

82. Vancleave High School

92. Moss Point High School