Only 72.9% of Mississippians age 25 and older had completed high school in 2000, an improvement from 1980, when 55% of the adult population were graduates, but still below the national average of 80.4%. Only 19.5% had obtained a bachelor's degree or higher in 2000.
Mississippi's reaction to the US Supreme Court decision in 1954 mandating public school desegregation was to repeal the constitutional requirement for public schools and to foster the development of segregated private schools. In 1964, the state's schools did begin to integrate, and compulsory school attendance was restored 13 years later. As of 1980, 26% of minority (nonwhite) students were in schools in which minorities represented less than 50% of the student body, and 19% were in 99–100% minority schools—a considerable degree of de facto segregation, but less so than in some northern states. In 1982, the compulsory school age was raised to 14, and as of 2001, it was 17; also in 1982, a system of free public kindergartens was established for the first time.
The total enrollment for fall 1999 in Mississippi's public schools stood at 500,716. Of these, 365,357 attended schools from kindergarten through grade eight, and 135,359 attended high school. Minority students made up approximately 53% of the total enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools in 2001. Total enrollment was estimated at 499,362 in fall 2000 and is expected to reach 514,000 by fall 2005. Enrollment in nonpublic schools in fall 2001 was 51,369. Expenditures for public education in 2000/01 were estimated at $2,637,923.
As of fall 2000, there were 152,997 students enrolled in college or graduate school. In the same year Mississippi had 42 degree-granting institutions: 8 public universities, 17 community colleges, and 17 private colleges (including 4 Bible colleges and theological seminaries). In 1997, minority students comprised 33.3% of total postsecondary enrollment. Important institutions of higher learning in Mississippi include the University of Mississippi, established in 1844, Mississippi State University, and the University of Southern Mississippi. Predominantly black institutions include Tougaloo College, Alcorn State University, Jackson State University, and Mississippi Valley State University.