The top reported proficiency rate is 61% in English language arts. The lowest is 44% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Clarkson Elementary School
Clarkson Elementary School serves students from preschool through fifth grade in the small city of Clarkson, Kentucky, as part of the Grayson County school district. It is a regular public school, neither a charter nor a magnet, and sits within the town’s residential and small-business corridor along Highway 62. For a family considering this school, the picture is shaped by a sizable student body for an elementary, a student population that is predominantly white, and academic results that show solid performance in reading and mathematics in some grades while leaving questions unanswered in other areas.
Enrollment is large for the grade band, and the student body is overwhelmingly white with very small shares of Black, Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how it serves those populations. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, indicating that many families face economic challenges. This economic context is consistent with the broader community: Clarkson is a small home rule-class city with a median household income below state averages and a poverty rate that is high relative to national norms. The city promotes low property tax rates as a draw for families and businesses, and housing values are modest compared to both state and national benchmarks, though home values have softened recently.
On state assessments, Clarkson Elementary’s results tell a mixed but largely positive story. In mathematics, a majority of students met or exceeded the Kentucky proficiency standard in the fourth grade, while third and fifth graders scored close to but above half proficient. Reading and language arts performance was similar: majorities in third and fifth grades scored proficient or better, and fourth graders did even stronger. In social studies, tested only in fifth grade, proficiency was lower, with less than half of students reaching the standard. Science results for fourth grade were suppressed, so no reliable read is available for that subject. Overall, the school shows that a solid core of its students are achieving at grade level, especially in reading and math at the fourth-grade level, but there is a noticeable drop in social studies that a parent may want to explore further with the school.
Very little is publicly available about school environment and access. There is no reported data on discipline, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or course offerings beyond the core academic subjects. Programs such as art, music, physical education, or enrichment activities are not listed in the data we have. A parent would need to contact the school or visit to get a sense of what else is available.
The city of Clarkson itself is a small, rural community with a distinctive identity tied to beekeeping—the Walter T. Kelley Company, a major manufacturer of beekeeping supplies, is based here, and the annual Clarkson Honeyfest is the state’s official honey festival. The town has seen modest infrastructure improvements in recent years, including a new city park, city hall, and community center. The built environment is typical of a small highway town: a few blocks of businesses, a volunteer fire department, and limited pedestrian infrastructure. There is no public library within Clarkson; residents likely use the library in nearby Leitchfield, the county seat.
For families with children in older grades, note that Clarkson Elementary only covers preschool through fifth grade. Grayson County Middle School and Grayson County High School are located in Leitchfield, a short drive southwest. That means a child who starts at Clarkson will eventually change schools for middle and high school. The district itself—Grayson County—did not show any recent major changes or strategic initiatives in publicly available information, so the school has been operating in a stable administrative context.
All things considered, Clarkson Elementary appears to be a serviceable community school where most students are achieving at expected levels in reading and math, but with room for improvement in social studies and a lack of public data on many dimensions of school life. A family looking for a small-town setting with relatively affordable housing and a school that serves as a neighborhood anchor may find it a reasonable fit, but those wanting detailed information on programs, discipline, or specialized services will need to dig further with the school itself.
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