The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in Math. The lowest is 30% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Cannonsburg Elementary School
Cannonsburg Elementary School is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade and is part of the Boyd County school district. The school sits along Midland Trail Road in the Ashland area of eastern Kentucky. Ashland is a mid-sized city on the Ohio River that has historically been an industrial and steel town, with a major employer once being the Armco/AK Steel Works. That industrial base has contracted significantly, and the city’s economy has shifted toward healthcare and services. UK King’s Daughters hospital, purchased by the University of Kentucky in late 2022, is now the largest employer. Ashland’s population has been declining slightly, and the housing market in the surrounding area reflects a modest downward trend in values. A family looking at this school should understand these local economic conditions, as the community is navigating a transition away from its industrial past.
The student body at Cannonsburg Elementary is predominantly white, with a small share of students who are Hispanic or identify as two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a significant portion of families face some economic strain. The school’s enrollment is relatively small for its grade band, with classes across kindergarten through fifth grade. This size may allow for a more close-knit feel, though specific data on class sizes and staffing was not available to confirm that directly.
On state assessments, the school’s results show a mixed picture. In mathematics, the proportion of students scoring at proficient or above varied by grade, with one grade level showing a lower share and another grade level showing a stronger share. In English language arts, the rates of proficiency were similar, clustering in a range where roughly two out of every five students met the state’s proficiency standard. Science results for the tested grade were notably lower, with fewer students reaching proficiency, and social studies results for the tested grade were also on the lower side. The data did not include a multi-year trend, so it is not possible to say from this record whether performance has been improving or declining over time. A parent may want to ask the school about the specific supports available in reading and math, especially given that the overall proficiency index places the school among the stronger performers relative to other districts in Boyd County, but within the school itself the share of students reaching proficiency across subjects is modest.
Because Cannonsburg Elementary serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate or high school program data to consider. A parent interested in the long-term academic pathway would need to investigate the middle and high schools that students from this attendance zone eventually attend. The district brief did not surface any recent major changes or strategic initiatives at the district level, so no significant district-wide shifts are evident from the available information.
The school’s setting in a rural part of Boyd County, outside the more dense downtown Ashland corridor, means it draws from a less urbanized area. The city of Ashland itself has cultural anchors like the Paramount Arts Center and Central Park, and Amtrak service, but those are not proximate to the school’s location. For a family considering this school, the core takeaway is that it serves a small, predominantly white student population with notable economic diversity, and its academic results suggest that while some students are meeting state standards, a sizable portion are not, particularly in science and social studies. The relative strength in math compared to other Boyd County districts is a positive, but the absolute proficiency levels across subjects are an area a prospective parent would want to explore directly with the school.
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