The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in Science. The lowest is 30% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Marie Gatton Phillips Elementary
Marie Gatton Phillips Elementary serves students from preschool through fifth grade in the small, rural community of Sacramento, Kentucky. It is a regular public school within the McLean County district. Sacramento is a very small home-rule class city with a limited commercial core and a population that has been gradually declining. The school building itself has local significance: residents of the town have previously rallied to keep the elementary school open, which speaks to its role as a community anchor. Families considering this school will be looking at a tight‑knit, rural setting where the school and the town are closely connected.
The academic picture at Gatton Phillips is mixed, and the available state test results paint an uneven portrait across grades and subjects. In math, proficiency rates varied by grade level, with third‑grade results falling in a moderate range, while fourth‑grade results were lower and fifth‑grade results sat somewhere between the two. In English language arts, only fifth‑grade data were reported; the results there were higher than any math grade, but results for third and fourth grade were suppressed, likely due to small group sizes, so a full picture of reading and writing performance across the lower grades is not available. Science testing in fourth grade showed a reasonable share of students meeting proficiency. Social studies in fifth grade, however, was a weaker area. A parent may want to ask the school for more detail about how reading and math instruction is structured across the early elementary years, especially given the suppression of some scores.
The student body is small, and the school serves a population with substantial economic need. Most students qualify for free or reduced‑price lunch, and the student body is predominantly white. Enrollment numbers for students with disabilities and English learners were not available in the data. The school is part of McLean County, which is the only district in the county, so there is no meaningful in‑county comparison set to gauge performance against neighboring districts. That said, a parent can expect a school where class sizes are likely small and teachers can know students individually, but where academic outcomes in core subjects are not uniformly strong.
Sacramento’s housing market reflects its rural, depopulating context. Home values are well below both the state and national averages, and the overall trajectory is one of decline. This makes the area relatively affordable for those who can find local work, though employment opportunities within the town itself appear very limited, with residents often commuting to larger nearby towns such as Madisonville or Owensboro. The community has no public library or parks identified in available information, so families may rely on services in the county seat or neighboring cities for recreation and enrichment.
No information on programs such as gifted, special education services, or extracurricular offerings was available in the provided data. The district itself had no recent parent‑relevant changes documented. For a family weighing this school, the key factors are the small rural environment, the economic profile of the student population, and a set of test results that suggest room for growth in multiple subjects. Parents who value a close community and a school that local residents have fought to preserve may find it a good fit, while those looking for consistently high academic proficiency or a wide array of programs should ask the school directly about its current instructional strategies and support structures.
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