The top reported proficiency rate is 70% in Science. The lowest is 36% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Davidson Elementary School
Davidson Elementary School sits on Goode Street in Water Valley, Mississippi, serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade as part of the Water Valley School District. It is a traditional public school, not a charter or magnet, and it carries the weight of being the community's primary elementary campus in a town where school life and civic life are closely intertwined.
The town itself is small and rooted in railroad history. Founded in the 1830s and built up as a major Illinois Central Railroad stop, Water Valley today leans on manufacturing and agriculture, with its Main Street listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Downtown revitalization is underway through city and private efforts, and the town's official tagline, "Railroad Roots. Creative Futures," signals a posture of renewal. The community gathers around Friday night high school football, Saturday morning youth sports at Crawford Sports Complex, and the Watermelon Carnival, which has been recognized among the top festivals in the Southeast. Proximity to I-55 and to Oxford, Batesville, and Grenada gives residents access to larger commercial and cultural hubs a short drive away. The town is growing modestly, with a gradual population increase since the last census, though no specific new housing developments were identified in publicly reported sources.
Housing in the area is affordable relative to state and national benchmarks. Typical home values sit below the Mississippi statewide figure and well below the national median, and the price-to-income ratio suggests that homeownership is within reach for many local families compared with much of the country. Rental data was not available. A family considering a move here would find a low-cost housing market in a traditional small-town setting, with the tradeoff of a car-dependent daily life and limited walkability outside the Main Street corridor.
Davidson's enrollment is sizable for a town of this scale, drawing students across pre-k and the elementary grades. The student body is balanced between white and Black students, with a small share of multiracial students and a handful of Asian and Hispanic students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the surrounding community. Data on special education and English learner populations was not available.
Academically, the most recent state assessment results show a mixed picture that varies sharply by grade level. Fifth grade is the clear bright spot. More than half of fifth graders reached proficiency in English language arts, and an even larger share reached proficiency in math. Science proficiency for fifth graders was strong, with a clear majority demonstrating mastery. Those fifth-grade results stand out as a genuine strength and suggest that something is working well at that grade level.
The lower grades tell a different story. Third and fourth grade proficiency rates in both math and English language arts were low, with only a fraction of students reaching proficiency. Sixth grade results fell in between, with roughly a third of students proficient in each subject. These are plain facts. A parent whose child is entering third or fourth grade may want to look into how the school supports early-grade instruction and what intervention resources are available, since the gap between the lower and upper grades is wide enough to warrant a direct conversation with school staff.
No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability. Participation rates were also not reported. The school does not serve high school grades, so graduation rate data does not apply here.
Publicly reported information about district-level changes, strategic priorities, or new programs was not found, so those are left out rather than guessed. Similarly, no data on staffing ratios, course access, discipline, attendance, or Title I status was provided, and no neighbor comparison was available for this school.
What the picture does show is a community elementary school in an affordable, tight-knit small town, with a student body that reflects the local working-class economy, a strong fifth-grade academic outcome, and lower early-grade results that a parent would want to understand before enrolling. The town's identity is built around tradition and reinvention, and the school sits squarely within that context.
See more original research from School Decision →