The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in Social studies. The lowest is 7% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Lee Street Elementary School
Lee Street Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Jonesboro, a small Clayton County seat about eighteen miles south of downtown Atlanta. The school's enrollment sits at a modest size for its grade band, with a student body that is predominantly Black, followed by a substantial Hispanic population, and very small numbers of other racial and ethnic groups. All students at Lee Street Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a school community facing economic hardship across the board.
The academic data presents a significant challenge. State testing results from spring 2025 show proficiency rates that are very low across all tested subjects. In mathematics, proficiency ranged from below five percent in fifth grade to roughly fifteen percent in fourth grade, with third grade near eight percent. English language arts proficiency was even lower, with third grade at around one percent, fourth grade near six percent, and fifth grade at fifteen percent. Science proficiency in fifth grade stood at ten percent. These results are far below the baseline for educational success and place the school well below other districts in Clayton County on overall proficiency measures.
The data available does not include trend information showing whether these proficiency rates represent a recent decline, a chronic pattern, or a sudden shift. Only one year of current assessment data is on file, so a parent cannot yet discern direction from this school. One older data point from social studies testing in 2013 showed higher proficiency, but that is more than a decade old and offers limited insight into the school's recent trajectory. A parent may want to look into this further with the school and the Clayton County Public Schools district to understand what is driving these results, what interventions are underway, and what the realistic path to improvement looks like.
The broader district context offers some encouraging signals. Clayton County voters approved a major capital investment in 2023 to renovate or replace aging schools across the system, and a new district-wide literacy initiative grounded in the Science of Reading has rolled out universal reading screening and tutoring support across all K-5 classrooms, including Lee Street. These shifts suggest the district is actively working to strengthen reading and overall academic outcomes. Whether these initiatives gain traction at Lee Street specifically is something a family would want to monitor and discuss directly with school leadership.
Jonesboro itself is a historic small town with a revitalized downtown core centered on Lee Street Park and Main Street, where local shops, the courthouse, and civic events anchor community life. The housing market is comparatively affordable relative to the broader Atlanta region, with new construction and townhome developments underway as part of a downtown-focused growth strategy. The area is served by MARTA and regional bus transit, and employment anchors include the Clayton County school system, logistics and supply chain operations, Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, and healthcare.
Lee Street Elementary's central location in Jonesboro means the school sits within the town's residential fabric, within reach of the downtown amenities and civic anchors that define community life. For a family considering this school, the reality is that it faces significant academic headwinds right now. The proficiency data is low enough that a parent should have a direct, candid conversation with the school and district about what is causing these results, what support and instruction look like in the classroom, and what realistic progress families should expect. The district's investments in literacy and capital infrastructure suggest commitment to improvement, but the gap between current performance and proficiency is large and will take sustained effort to close.
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