The top reported proficiency rate is 25% in Science. The lowest is 12% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Cross Timbers Es
Cross Timbers Elementary serves third through fifth grade in Tecumseh, a small town about 40 miles east-southeast of Oklahoma City, just south of Shawnee. The school is part of the Tecumseh Public Schools district, and sits within a community that has been slowly losing population since its mid-20th-century peak, though housing values have risen in recent years despite that decline. The town is car-dependent, with a traditional downtown centered on the historic courthouse square, and the school district’s six schools appear integrated into the town fabric rather than isolated on a separate campus. Local employers are primarily public-sector, including the school district itself, the Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center, and city government.
This is an elementary school of moderate size for its grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial share of students who identify as two or more races and a notable population of American Indian or Alaska Native students. Smaller groups of Hispanic and Black students are also present. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, on students with disabilities, and on English learners were not available, so a reader cannot assess the level of economic or learning-support need from this record alone.
State testing results from the most recent school year show that proficiency rates across tested subjects and grades fall in the bottom quartile when compared with other elementary schools in Pottawatomie County. In math, the share of students scoring at or above the proficient level was low in third grade, lower in fourth grade, and remained low in fifth grade. In English language arts, the pattern was similar: third and fifth grade proficiency rates were low, and the fourth grade rate was the weakest of the three. In fifth grade science, the proficiency rate was higher than in either math or ELA at that grade level, though it still represented a modest share of students. Oklahoma changed the cut scores for its state assessments in math and ELA in recent years, which makes direct comparisons with earlier years uncertain, and no multi-year trend data were available here. A parent may want to ask the school about how current performance compares with prior years under the new standards.
The school does not serve grades that would produce a graduation rate or chronic absenteeism data, so those metrics are absent for grade-appropriate reasons. No information was available on the school’s course access, staffing ratios, or discipline rates, which means a reader cannot evaluate the depth of enrichment offerings or the school climate from this data. The district brief turned up no recent public records of major curriculum changes, referendums, property-tax shifts, or pedagogy reforms that would alter the school’s direction.
For a family considering Cross Timbers, the academic picture is the central feature. The proficiency numbers are low relative to other elementary schools in the county, and in a state testing environment where cut scores have shifted, the school appears to be in a challenging spot. The town itself is small, quiet, and slowly shrinking, with a modest cost of housing and a car-dependent layout. This is a school that will likely appeal most to families who are tied to Tecumseh by work, family, or housing, and who are prepared to supplement academic support at home or to work closely with the school on student progress. Those weighing a move to this district may want to investigate how the upper elementary experience here connects to the middle and high school, and whether the district as a whole is investing in instructional improvement.
See more original research from School Decision →