The reported proficiency rate for English language arts is 8%.
Original Research by School Decision on Douglass Elementary/middle
Douglass Elementary/Middle is a regular public school in Memphis, part of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The school enrolls nearly five hundred students, with a student body that is overwhelmingly Black, a small Hispanic population, and very small numbers of white students or students of two or more races. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not available, and neither were counts for students with disabilities or English learners, which means a parent may want to ask the school directly about the level of support available for those populations.
The school sits in an area of Memphis where home values are well below both the state and national averages and recently declined. Rents, by contrast, have been rising. This pattern, combined with the broader economic context of a national unemployment rate around four percent, gives a picture of a neighborhood where housing costs are relatively low but affordability pressures are shifting.
On the Tennessee state assessments, the picture is plain. In English language arts across grades three through eight, a small share of students scored proficient or above. The math and science proficiency rates were suppressed and not reported. The school’s overall proficiency index, averaged across tested subjects and grades, places it in the bottom quartile among all districts in Shelby County. These results are the central fact about academic performance at Douglass. A parent considering this school should take that information seriously and ask what support the school provides for students who are below grade level, what interventions are in place, and how the school tracks progress year to year.
The surrounding city of Memphis is a major urban center with significant cultural and recreational assets. Tom Lee Park on the downtown riverfront was recently renovated and includes ballcourts, trails, and bike stands. Overton Park, near Rhodes College, houses the Memphis Zoo. Shelby Farms Park in East Memphis is among the largest urban parks in the country. Beale Street is a well-known civic and entertainment anchor, and the FedExForum hosts the Memphis Grizzlies. Cultural landmarks include the National Civil Rights Museum, Graceland, Sun Studio, and the Stax Museum. The Memphis Area Transit Authority provides public bus service, and the mayor appoints its board. All of this means a family living near Douglass has access to a dense array of city amenities, but the academic outcomes at the school itself are the priority for a parent deciding whether it fits.
The school is not a charter or magnet school. It is a neighborhood school drawing from a defined attendance zone. Because it serves through eighth grade, families in this part of Memphis do not have to transition their child to a new school after fifth grade; the same building covers the full pre-K through eight span. That continuity can appeal to families who want stability through middle school. The tradeoff is that the school’s performance, as measured by state tests, is clearly below most others in the county. A parent should visit, talk to the principal about academic supports, and ask what recent changes the district has made that affect this school. Publicly available information about district-level school closures or funding referenda in recent years was limited, so any family should also check whether Memphis-Shelby County Schools has made or is planning boundary changes or program shifts that could affect Douglass. The academic data is the headline. Everything else is context around that fact.
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