The top reported proficiency rate is 24% in Math. The lowest is 8% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Cromwell Elementary
Cromwell Elementary is a regular public school in Memphis, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It belongs to Memphis-Shelby County Schools, the large urban district that covers the city and county. The school sits in the 38118 zip code, a part of Memphis where home values are modest and have edged down recently; rents are also on the lower end nationally but have ticked up slightly. The area offers the amenities of a major city: downtown riverfront parks, Beale Street, the Memphis Zoo, the National Civil Rights Museum, and professional sports at FedExForum. Public transit is available through MATA bus service.
The student body is smaller than many elementary schools in the district, with an enrollment that draws primarily from two groups. The majority of students are Black, and a substantial share are Hispanic. White and Asian students each make up a very small presence. The school does not report the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, nor does it report special education or English learner counts, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports and how they are staffed.
On state assessments, Cromwell Elementary’s results are below the midpoint when compared with other schools across Shelby County districts. In math and English language arts, roughly a quarter of students scored at the proficient or above level. Science results were similar. Social studies data is older and comes from a year when both the test name and cut scores changed, so drawing a direct line to current performance is not useful. What matters for a family is straightforward: the majority of tested students are not yet reaching state proficiency benchmarks in core subjects. This is a school where academic growth will likely be a central focus.
Because Cromwell Elementary serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate or college-and-career readiness data. Chronic absenteeism figures are also absent. The school environment metrics—discipline incidents, staffing ratios, course access—were not available in the data provided. A parent considering this school should inquire about class sizes, teacher experience and turnover, and behavioral climate directly from the school or district.
The district, Memphis-Shelby County Schools, has been navigating a period of change. Publicly reported plans have included school closures and a "Reimagining 901" initiative, along with a property tax referendum in recent years. These larger dynamics can affect budgets, program availability, and attendance boundaries. Families may want to check whether Cromwell Elementary has been subject to any boundary changes or program shifts and what the district’s long-range facilities plan looks like for this part of the city.
Cromwell Elementary does not operate as a charter or magnet school; it is a traditional neighborhood school. It offers no specialized program data in the public record, so a parent would need to confirm whether it provides art, music, physical education, or other enrichment—common in elementary settings but worth verifying. The school’s core role is to serve its immediate community, and its demographic profile reflects the surrounding neighborhood.
For a family weighing this school, the picture is straightforward. Housing here is relatively affordable by Memphis standards. The school is a small-to-mid-sized elementary with a student body that is predominantly Black and Hispanic. Academic proficiency is low compared to county peers, a pattern that many high-poverty urban schools share. The district context includes ongoing restructuring. A parent with concerns about academic rigor should ask about intervention programs, tutoring, and how the school supports students who are below grade level. A parent looking for a diverse, community-rooted elementary in an affordable part of Memphis may find it a reasonable fit, provided they are comfortable digging into the support structures that the public data leaves unstated.
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