The top reported proficiency rate is 81% in Math. The lowest is 63% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on New Salem Elementary
New Salem Elementary is a small elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Marshville, a rural town in eastern Union County, about 35 miles southeast of Charlotte. The school enrolls roughly 250 students distributed fairly evenly across its six grades, with a student body that is predominantly white and about one-third qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.
On state assessments in the 2024-25 school year, New Salem's proficiency results show strength in math and science but a noticeable gap in English language arts. In math, about four in five students scored proficient or above on the End-of-Grade test. Science proficiency was similarly strong at about the same rate, though science testing at the elementary level involves a smaller number of students than math and reading. English language arts tells a different story: just over three in five students met proficiency. That gap between math and reading performance is worth understanding with the school, as it often reflects differences in reading instruction, intervention intensity, or student engagement in literacy. A parent may want to ask the school how it is addressing reading proficiency and what support exists for students below grade level.
The school operates within Union County Public Schools, a district that has made concrete investments in academic support. The district has implemented daily math tutoring for every fourth and seventh grader across the system since 2024, with outside evaluation showing the program boosts student outcomes. While New Salem is an elementary school and therefore serves students in grades that participate in the fourth-grade component of that system, a parent should confirm with the school what tutoring and intervention pathways are available to students who need additional help in reading or math.
Marshville itself is a small residential community in the early stages of growth. The town has historically had the lowest property values of any municipality in Union County, but new housing development is underway, with home construction activity in the area and the Monroe Bypass making commuting to Charlotte feasible. This context suggests the school may be on the edge of demographic change as families move into new subdivisions. Housing values in the Marshville zip code are moderate relative to state and national benchmarks.
The town's civic anchors include a small historic downtown along Highway 74, Marshville Municipal Park with sports facilities and a new fitness area, and the Lois Morgan Edwards Memorial Library. The community is car-dependent with no public transit, and daily life is fairly typical of rural North Carolina. Families in this area often work in nearby Monroe or commute to Charlotte, and the district is about to undergo substantial facility changes: the 2022 bond has delivered new buildings at East Elementary and Forest Hills High in fall 2025, and a 2024 bond will eventually replace Parkwood High and relocate East Union Middle.
New Salem's academic profile shows capable math instruction and emerging strength in science, paired with an area of focus in reading. Whether this school is the right fit depends on a family's priorities around academic support, comfort with a small, rural setting, and views on the district's classroom-display and curriculum-challenge policies, which have recently shifted in direction.
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