The top reported proficiency rate is 32% in Science. The lowest is 20% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Pearman Elementary School
Pearman Elementary School sits on Merritt Drive in Cleveland, Mississippi, serving first through sixth graders in the Cleveland School District. It is a traditional public school, not a charter or magnet, and its enrollment is modest for its grade band. The student body is predominantly Black, with smaller White, Hispanic, and multiracial groups. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school firmly in a high-poverty context. Data on English learners and special-education populations was not available, so those shares remain unknown here.
On state testing, Pearman's results tell a mixed and generally cautionary story. In math, proficiency climbs as students move up the grades. Third grade posts a very low proficiency rate, fourth grade rises to a quarter of tested students, fifth dips back, and sixth reaches the strongest math mark with roughly a third proficient. The upward arc in the upper grades suggests some momentum as children progress, but the overall math picture is one where most tested students are not yet reaching proficiency. English language arts follows a different pattern. Third grade stands out as the strongest ELA result, with a solid share of students proficient, but rates fall sharply in fourth grade and stay flat through fifth and sixth. Science, tested only in fifth grade, lands around a third proficient. A parent reviewing these numbers may want to ask the school how it supports students who slip between third and fourth grade in literacy, and what interventions are in place for the early-grade math deficit.
No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement or decline from prior years. Participation rates were also missing from the state dataset.
Because Pearman serves only elementary grades, it has no graduation rate and no high-school-level course access data. Those gaps reflect the grade band, not a reporting failure. Civil-rights data on discipline, attendance, and staffing was not provided, and no program offerings were listed. The school's Title I status was also not reported, though the universal free-or-reduced-price lunch rate suggests the school almost certainly operates under that designation.
Cleveland itself is a small Delta city that doubles as one of Bolivar County's two county seats. Its identity is shaped by Delta State University on the north side, a commercial corridor along U.S. 61, and a walkable downtown strip along Greenwoo Street with locally owned shops and restaurants. Cultural anchors include the Grammy Museum Mississippi, the Railroad Heritage Museum, and several Mississippi Blues Trail markers. The city is car-dependent by nature, with no fixed-route transit and a Walk Score that reflects how spread out things are beyond the core. Parks and a multi-use trail system connect neighborhoods and recreation areas. The population has been declining over recent census cycles, and the local economy leans heavily on educational services, healthcare, and retail.
The housing market around Pearman is affordable by almost any standard. Typical home values in the school's zip code sit well below the state benchmark and far below national levels, and those values have been declining year over year. Mortgage costs relative to income look manageable for working families, but the declining-value trend and the broader economic context of the area mean the market is not appreciating. Rental data was not available for this location. For families considering a move to the area, housing is inexpensive, but wealth-building through home equity has been limited in recent years.
The Cleveland School District's recent history offered little in the way of parent-relevant changes within the last several years. The district did undergo a consolidation tied to desegregation, but that falls outside the recent window. No strategic priorities or programmatic shifts were surfaced in the available research, so there is little to report on that front.
What Pearman offers is a small, community-rooted elementary setting in a town with university and cultural amenities nearby. Its academic results are currently weak in several grades and subjects, with some bright spots in third-grade literacy and sixth-grade math. Families weighing this school should ask pointed questions about early-grade math support, the literacy drop after third grade, and what the district is doing to lift proficiency across the board.
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