The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in Science. The lowest is 25% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Smith Elementary School
Smith Elementarysits on Parkway Drive in Jackson, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of Jackson Public School District. The school is a conventional public school, not a charter. Its enrollment is small for an elementary spanning that grade range, and the student body is almost entirely Black, with a handful of students identifying as multiracial or Hispanic. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The school does not have an IEP rate or English-learner rate on record, so the picture of special populations is incomplete.
On Mississippi's MAAP assessment, results from the most recent tested year show a mixed academic profile. Math proficiency rises as students move up the grades, with third grade showing the weakest results, fourth grade the strongest, and fifth grade landing in between. ELA follows a similar arc, peaking in fourth grade before dipping in fifth. Science, tested only in fifth grade, shows the highest proficiency rate among all subjects and grades reported. A parent may want to look into what drives the fourth-grade strength and whether the school can extend that momentum into fifth. Participation rates were not reported, and no multi-year trend data was available, so it is hard to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability.
The surrounding neighborhood tells its own story. Jackson is Mississippi's capital and largest city, anchored by state government, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and a Nissan manufacturing plant, with Jackson Public Schools itself ranking among the top employers. Publicly reported sources describe a sprawling, auto-dependent city laid out on a historic grid, with cultural institutions including the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, the Museum of Mississippi History, and the Mississippi Children's Museum clustered near downtown. Jackson State University and Millsaps College both operate within the city.
The housing market around Smith Elementary is among the most affordable you will find. Home values in the school's zip code sit far below both the state and national benchmarks, and rents run low as well. The price-to-income ratio is near the national norm, meaning local wages stretch reasonably against local housing costs. For a family looking to buy rather than rent, the monthly mortgage cost is modest. This is a neighborhood where housing is inexpensive relative to most of the country, which reflects broader economic conditions in the area.
Jackson has faced well-documented headwinds. Publicly reported accounts note that the city lost the largest share of its population of any major American city over the last decade, with growth and development pressure shifting to suburban Madison and Rankin counties. A severe water crisis in which the city lost access to running water drew national attention. The broader metro area, though, remains the largest in Mississippi and continues to generate economic activity, with employers like Amazon expanding in nearby counties.
At the district level, Jackson Public School District recently adopted a Strategic Plan covering the next several years, intended to guide curriculum, instruction, and resource allocation. How that plan translates into changes at individual campuses like Smith is something a parent would want to ask about directly.
What the data does not cover is as telling as what it does. There is no school type classification, no magnet status, no Title I designation, no locale code, no discipline or attendance data, no staffing figures, no course-access information, and no program offerings listed. Civil-rights data was not available, and there is no neighbor comparison to position Smith against nearby schools. The gaps mean a family researching this school should go to the source, ask the principal and district about supports, interventions, enrichment, and school climate, and treat the test scores as a narrow window rather than a full portrait. What the available record does show is a small, high-poverty elementary school in a capital-city neighborhood with very low housing costs, modest and uneven academic results, and a district that has recently committed to a new strategic direction.
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