The top reported proficiency rate is 26% in Science. The lowest is 21% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Clarksdale Municipal School Dist
Clarksdale Municipal School District serves students from prekindergarten through twelfth grade in Clarksdale, the seat of Coahoma County in the Mississippi Delta. The district operates several schools with distinct themes, including a health and wellness academy, a visual and performing arts school, a math and science school, an international studies school, and a vocational school. A dedicated ninth grade academy and a middle school academy round out the offerings. One school, Heidelberg School Math and Science, is listed as closed. The themed academy structure gives the district a framework for specialization across grade levels, and the presence of a vocational school suggests attention to career pathways alongside the academic track.
The student body is almost entirely Black, with only small shares of white, Hispanic, and multiracial students. Enrollment is modest for a district spanning all grade levels, and the grade distribution is fairly even from kindergarten through twelfth grade, with smaller numbers in prekindergarten and ungraded categories. Information on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available, nor were data on students with individualized education programs or English learners. A parent wanting a full picture of the district's student support profile would need to ask the district directly for those figures.
On state assessments, the most recent results show a district working from a low base with some bright spots and some areas of real concern. In the elementary grades, math proficiency sits in the upper twenties to mid-thirties range, with sixth grade being the strongest. English language arts results across grades three through six hover in the high teens to high twenties. Fifth grade science proficiency reaches the mid-thirties, which is a relative strength. The sharp decline comes in eighth grade, where both math and English proficiency drop to single digits, and eighth grade science also sits low. Seventh grade English is also quite low. This pattern, where middle school results fall well below the elementary grades, is something a parent may want to look into further with the district, particularly if their child is approaching those grades. Participation rates for state testing were not reported, so it is not possible to assess whether low scores reflect broad participation or a narrower tested group. Multi-year trend data was not available, so there is no way to tell from the provided data whether these results are improving, stable, or declining over time.
The housing market in Clarksdale is among the most affordable in the state. Home values sit far below the statewide and national benchmarks, and the estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home is very low by any standard. At the same time, values have been declining, with a notable year-over-year drop. Rent data was not available. For families already in the area, housing costs are unlikely to be a barrier to living within district boundaries. Whether that affordability reflects broader economic conditions in the Delta is something the missing locale and district briefs would have helped contextualize, but that context was not provided.
Several pieces a parent would typically want were absent from the data. No graduation rate was reported. No civil rights data on discipline, access to advanced courses, or staffing was included. No program offerings beyond what the school names imply were listed. No neighbor comparison set was available to position the district against other Coahoma County districts. No district brief on recent changes or strategic priorities was provided. These gaps mean the portrait here is built largely from enrollment, demographics, state test results, and housing data. A family considering Clarksdale Municipal would benefit from contacting the district for information on graduation outcomes, advanced course availability, extracurricular offerings, and student support services before making a decision. The themed school structure and the relative strength in early elementary science suggest areas of intentionality, while the steep drop in middle grade proficiency is the most pressing academic question the data raises.
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