The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 33% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Heritage Elementary School
Heritage Elementary School serves students from preschool through fifth grade in Grayson, Kentucky, a small city that functions as the county seat of Carter County. The school is part of the Carter County district, and its location on State Highway 1 places it within a community that grew substantially after Interstate 64 opened, turning Grayson into a commuter gateway for the Huntington-Ashland metro area. The city itself is compact, with its downtown centered on the Main Street and Carol Malone Boulevard intersection near the Carter County Courthouse, and public-sector employers including the school district and Kentucky Christian University anchor the local economy.
Heritage Elementary enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with a very small share of Hispanic students and a similarly small share of students identifying as two or more races. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic need among the families the school serves. The school did not report data on students with individualized education programs or English learners, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about its special education and language support services.
On the Kentucky Summative Assessment for the 2024-25 school year, the school's results show a mixed picture across subjects and grade levels. In mathematics, the share of students scoring proficient or above varied by grade, with fourth grade reaching the highest level and fifth grade the lowest. In English language arts, third grade had the lowest proficiency, while fourth and fifth grades both showed higher results. In science, which is tested in fourth grade, just under two-fifths of students reached proficiency. In social studies, tested in fifth grade, about one-third of students scored proficient. These are straightforward results from a single year, and they do not include a trend line since multi-year data was not available. A parent considering the school may want to discuss with the principal how the school supports students who are not yet meeting benchmarks, particularly in the upper elementary grades where some subjects show softer numbers.
The school serves only elementary grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. That is simply a function of the grade band, not a judgment on the school's trajectory. Similarly, the comparison fact-set notes that because Heritage Elementary is the only school in its comparison cohort within Carter County, no meaningful comparative positioning against other local districts could be produced. The county itself has a small number of districts, so parents looking for a county-wide benchmark may find limited direct comparisons available.
Grayson's housing market shows home values that have declined slightly year over year, sitting below both the state and national benchmarks. Rents are relatively moderate compared to national figures, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment is below the national median. The local unemployment rate has been steady at a level slightly above the national rate. For a family moving to the area, housing costs are not especially high relative to broader averages, and the small-city setting means that schools, the courthouse, and everyday amenities are within a short distance of one another.
The district itself did not have any major parent-relevant changes publicly reported, so this profile reflects the school and community as they stand without recent disruptions or restructuring. Heritage Elementary is a neighborhood school in a rural-adjacent small city, serving a high-needs population with state assessment results that parents will want to examine grade by grade, particularly in math at fifth grade and reading at third grade, where the school may benefit from additional attention from families and staff alike.
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