The top reported proficiency rate is 44% in English language arts. The lowest is 0% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Clark Elementary School
Clark Elementary School, a regular public school in the Selma City district, serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. The school sits in a city that has seen steady population decline for decades, and the student body reflects the broader community’s economic challenges. A very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of concentrated need that families should understand when considering the school’s context. The student population is overwhelmingly African American, with a small number of white students and a few students of other races represented. Data on special education classification and English learner status were not provided, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how it supports students in those groups.
State testing results for the 2024-25 school year show a mixed picture that varies noticeably by grade level and subject. In third-grade English language arts, a majority of students scored proficient, but that share dropped sharply by fourth grade, where fewer than a quarter of students did. Fifth and sixth graders rebounded somewhat in ELA, landing well below the third-grade peak but still above the fourth-grade floor. Math proficiency was low across all tested grades. In third grade, roughly half of students were proficient, but in every subsequent grade the share fell steeply, into the single digits or just above. Science testing, which is only administered in fourth grade, returned no students achieving proficiency. The overall proficiency index, which averages performance across subjects and grades, places Clark Elementary in the top quartile relative to the other school districts in Dallas County, but this is a comparison within a county that has just two districts, so the gap between first and second here is a narrow one. Only one year of state assessment results was available, so there is no trendline to show whether the school is improving or declining.
Because Clark Elementary does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not provide high school coursework, so metrics like AP, dual enrollment, or career pathways do not apply at this level. No information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing ratios was available in the data.
Selma, where the school is located, is a small city on the Alabama River that has lost roughly a third of its peak population since the 1960s. The downtown historic district along Water Avenue and the Edmund Pettus Bridge anchor the city’s civic identity and tourism economy. The city’s median household income is low relative to state and national benchmarks, and a substantial portion of residents live in poverty. Major employers include local government, the school system, and the regional hospital, while manufacturing and agriculture have declined. An EF2 tornado in early 2023 caused heavy damage across the city, compounding existing challenges with blight and disinvestment. The district has recently launched a strategic plan emphasizing literacy, college and career readiness, and social-emotional learning, and it has reorganized its secondary schools around a STEAM-focused middle school model, though those changes affect middle and high school levels rather than Clark’s elementary grades.
Housing in Selma is affordable by national standards. A family considering a move to the attendance zone would find home prices well below the national median, and the market has seen modest year-over-year appreciation. The national mortgage rate at the time of this writing is moderate, and while shelter costs have risen across the country in recent years, Selma’s housing stock remains comparatively inexpensive.
Clark Elementary is a neighborhood school serving a community with high economic need. The academic profile shows that a strong third-grade cohort in reading gives way to much lower proficiency in the upper elementary grades, particularly in math and science. Families whose children are already in the school system will have direct experience with the school’s day-to-day reality, but for those new to the area, a visit and a conversation with the principal about how the school addresses the learning gaps visible in the state assessment data would be a sensible next step.
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