Honors won in competition can by no means be offered as a complete measure of academic achievement. Nevertheless, OUS is quite proud of the impressive records compiled by its students in a variety of academic competitions. OUS students have consistently distinguished themselves in Science Fairs, Spelling and Geography Bees at local, state, and regional levels, Math Counts, Math Olympics and in the Academic Betterment Competition. In addition, OUS is recognized as one of the 34 "Schools of Distinction" in the state of Mississippi by Duke University for outstanding performance in the Talent Identification Program.