Poage Elementary School, Ashland KY

Original Research by School Decision on Poage Elementary School

Poage Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Ashland, Kentucky, as part of the Ashland Independent School District. It is a regular public school, not a charter, and no magnet or Title I status was reported. The school is on the south side of Ashland, a mid-sized Ohio River city that historically centered on steel and industry, now anchored by healthcare following the purchase of UK King’s Daughters hospital by the University of Kentucky in late 2022. Ashland’s industrial base contracted significantly in recent years, and its population has been declining slightly. The district itself is the single public school operator within city limits, with Paul G. Blazer High School and Ashland Middle School as the upper-grade destinations for Poage’s students. The district brief found no recent curriculum, property-tax, or pedagogy changes to report.

Poage’s enrollment is moderate for an elementary school serving grades KG through 5. The student body is predominantly white, with Black students and students identifying as two or more races making up the rest; no Asian, American Indian, or Native Hawaiian students were reported. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a context of above-average economic need for the community. Data on students with Individualized Education Programs and English learners were not available, so a parent should ask the school directly about special education services and English language support.

State assessment results from the 2024-25 school year show a mixed academic picture. In English language arts, proficiency rates across grades 3, 4, and 5 fell below a simple majority, with the highest rate in grade 3 and the lowest in grade 4. Math proficiency was more variable: grade 3 had the weakest showing among the three grades tested, while grade 4 and grade 5 performed at a similar level to each other, both higher than grade 3. Science, tested only in grade 4, showed a low proficiency rate. Social studies, tested only in grade 5, also showed a low rate. Compared with other districts in Boyd County, Poage’s overall proficiency across tested subjects sits below the midpoint of the three districts in the county. A parent looking at these numbers should ask the school what specific strategies or interventions are in place for math, science, and social studies instruction, and how the school supports students who arrive below grade level.

Because Poage does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism was available in the current data set. Housing in the immediate area is more affordable than both the state and national benchmarks, with home values having declined slightly year over year. The estimated monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home is modest relative to national conditions, consistent with a market that has softened amid the area’s population and economic transition. A parent considering schools in Ashland should understand Poage as a neighborhood elementary with a fairly high level of economic need, where state test scores in core subjects are generally below county peers, and where the school’s feeder pattern leads to Ashland’s single middle and high school. Families who value small-city river-town life with a slower pace and lower housing costs may find the area comfortable; those seeking a school with high baseline academic proficiency would want to investigate what supports Poage offers beyond the reported results.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 44% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 44% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 42% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 351%

School 51% · District 51%

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 47% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 52% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Science

Grade 428%

School 28% · District 31% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 37% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

This schoolAshland Independent, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income44%Higher-income65%21 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income23%Higher-income68%45 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income38%Higher-income58%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income23%Higher-income45%22 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income32%Higher-income68%36 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income24%Higher-income63%39 pp gap