The top reported proficiency rate is 70% in Science. The lowest is 55% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on St Martin Upper Elementary
St. Martin Upper Elementary sits in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, part of the Jackson County School District. It serves only fourth and fifth graders, a narrow two-grade band that makes this a transitional school where children consolidate early-elementary skills before moving into middle school. The campus sits on Yellow Jacket Boulevard, away from the historic downtown core that gives Ocean Springs its identity.
Ocean Springs is a Gulf Coast community with a strong arts and tourism character. Publicly reported descriptions call it a vibrant, eclectic arts community with numerous galleries, artist studios, restaurants, and a recently opened micro-brewery. Its downtown, lined with live oak trees, is a designated Mississippi Main Street district and hosts the Peter Anderson Festival, one of the largest fine arts festivals in the state. The city sits on the eastern shore of Biloxi Bay, just a short distance east of Biloxi, connected by the US-90 bridge. Outside the walkable downtown, the built environment is more suburban and auto-oriented, typical of Gulf Coast communities. The area has rebuilt substantially since Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic damage, and development has continued steadily around arts, tourism, and commercial growth. Housing here is relatively affordable compared with national levels, with typical home values below the national benchmark and rents that remain moderate for the region.
The school's enrollment is moderate for a two-grade building, and its student body reflects a mix of backgrounds. White students make up the largest group, with Black students, students of two or more races, Asian students, and Hispanic students also represented. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Data on English learners and special education enrollment was not available, so those population sizes remain unclear from what we have.
On Mississippi's MAAP assessments for the most recent school year, St. Martin Upper Elementary posted solid results in several areas. Fourth-grade math proficiency was strong, with well over half of tested students scoring proficient or above. Fifth-grade science was a clear bright spot, with a large majority demonstrating proficiency. English language arts results were steady across both grades, with a majority of students proficient in each. The one area that stands out as softer is fifth-grade math, where proficiency dropped noticeably compared with fourth grade. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, whether it reflects the difficulty of the fifth-grade math standards, a cohort effect, or something about how the curriculum transitions between grades. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is hard to say whether this is a persistent pattern or a one-year result.
Participation rates for the state assessments were not reported, which limits the picture slightly, though the tested counts were substantial for both grades.
Because this school serves only fourth and fifth graders, there is no graduation rate, no AP or dual-credit coursework, and no career pathway data to discuss. Those measures simply do not apply to this grade band. Similarly, no civil-rights data, school environment details, discipline figures, staffing ratios, or program offerings were provided, so those dimensions remain outside what we can describe. The district brief for Jackson County School District did not surface any confirmed parent-relevant changes in recent years, so there is little to report on that front.
For a family considering this area, St. Martin Upper Elementary offers a focused two-year academic experience in a community that blends coastal small-town character with a genuine arts identity. The academic results are generally encouraging, especially in science and fourth-grade math, with fifth-grade math being the area most worth asking about. The housing market is more affordable than much of the country, and the community has rebuilt with a steady trajectory since the storms of the mid-2000s.
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