The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in Science. The lowest is 29% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Ashland Elementary School
Ashland Elementary School sits in the Benton County School District in Ashland, Mississippi, a very small, entirely rural town that serves as the county seat. The school serves pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, which means it has no graduation rate, no AP or dual-credit coursework, and no high school accountability measures. Those gaps reflect the grade band, not anything missing from the school's own operations. State testing applies beginning in third grade, and the available results cover grades three through six in math and English language arts, plus fifth-grade science.
The town of Ashland is concentrated along a state highway east of its intersection with another state route, with the Benton County Courthouse anchoring a main square that functions as the civic and social focal point. Publicly reported sources describe a community in steady population decline, with no major housing developments or commercial growth projects on the horizon. Commercial activity is limited, and the town reads as a residential and civic-administrative center rather than an economic hub. No major employers were identified in available sources, though county government and the school district likely anchor local employment.
The housing market in the area is inexpensive relative to both state and national benchmarks. Home values sit well below the statewide figure and far below the national one, and the price-to-income ratio is modest. Home values have been appreciating at a brisk year-over-year pace recently, which suggests a tightening local market even as the population continues to shrink. For a family considering a move, housing here is relatively affordable, though the limited inventory that comes with a very small town is worth keeping in mind.
Enrollment at Ashland Elementary is small for a school covering pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. The student body is predominantly Black, with a smaller White population, a modest Hispanic presence, and a small multiracial group. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school squarely in a high-poverty context. Data on English learners and special education populations was not reported, so those shares cannot be characterized here. No staffing, course access, discipline, or attendance figures were available either, and a parent may want to ask the school directly about class sizes, support staff, and student services.
On the most recent Mississippi Academic Assessment Program results, the picture is mixed and tilts toward concern in the upper grades. Third-grade math proficiency was a relative bright spot, with a solid share of students reaching proficiency. That result drops sharply in fourth grade, falls further in fifth, and is lowest in sixth. The pattern is similar in English language arts, though less severe: third and fourth grades are modest, fifth grade is the strongest, and sixth falls back somewhat. Fifth-grade science stands out as the school's best result, with a clear majority of tested students reaching proficiency.
Read together, these results suggest the school is doing better with early-grade math and fifth-grade science than with sustained math performance across the upper elementary years. The decline in math proficiency as students move from third through sixth grade is the most prominent soft spot in the data. A parent may want to look into how the school supports math instruction in the upper grades and what interventions are available for students who fall behind. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is unclear whether these results represent a one-year pattern or a longer arc.
No information was available on the district's recent strategic priorities, budget changes, or curriculum initiatives. The district brief returned little of lasting impact from recent public reporting, so there is no basis to describe new programs or policy shifts a family should know about.
What Ashland Elementary appears to be is a small, rural, high-poverty elementary school in a quiet county-seat town where housing is affordable and community life centers on local government and the schools. It shows real strength in early math and fifth-grade science, and it shows a clear slide in upper-grade math that a family would want to understand before enrolling an older elementary student. For families already rooted in Benton County, it is the local option, and the questions worth asking are about upper-grade support and what the school is doing to reverse the proficiency decline.
See more original research from School Decision →