The top reported proficiency rate is 28% in Social studies. The lowest is 10% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Ford Road Elementary
Ford Road Elementary is a regular public school in Memphis, Tennessee, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools district. The school’s enrollment is large enough to fill a typical elementary building with several classrooms per grade. The student body is overwhelmingly Black, with very small shares of Hispanic and white students and a trace of multiracial students. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility data was not reported by the school, so a family looking for that indicator of economic need would want to ask the school directly. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was also missing, which means the school’s full support picture is incomplete from the available record.
Academically, the most recent state testing results show a low level of proficiency across math, English language arts, and science. In each subject, the share of students scoring at the proficient or above level is modest. Compared to other districts in Shelby County, Ford Road Elementary’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. Social studies data is from an earlier testing year and is not comparable to current standards due to changes in the assessment, so that number is not useful for drawing a current picture. The school has a high participation rate on the state tests, which suggests that nearly all enrolled students were assessed.
Because Ford Road Elementary serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and there are no advanced coursework offerings like AP or dual enrollment that typically appear at the high school level. The school’s website was not provided, so details about academic programs, after-school activities, or enrichment offerings are not available here. A parent interested in those would need to contact the school directly.
Ford Road Elementary is located on Ford Road in the southern part of Memphis. The surrounding housing market reflects a lower-cost area: typical home values are well below state and national averages, and recent trends show values declining. Rents are modest relative to the national median, and the calculated affordability snapshot suggests that renting is slightly cheaper than buying a home at current mortgage rates. The broader Memphis area offers a number of parks and cultural institutions, including Tom Lee Park along the Mississippi River, Shelby Farms Park, Overton Park with the Memphis Zoo, Beale Street, and landmarks such as the National Civil Rights Museum and Graceland. The Memphis Area Transit Authority operates public buses, and the mayor appoints board members to that agency. These community assets are available citywide and are not specific to the immediate neighborhood around Ford Road Elementary.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools has been in the news in recent years for discussions around school closures and a district-wide planning initiative, but no specific decisions or outcomes tied to Ford Road Elementary were found in the available research. There was also a referendum on a property tax increase a couple of years ago, though its direct effect on this school is not clear from the data.
The takeaway for a parent or resident is that Ford Road Elementary is a large elementary school in a low-income area of Memphis with state test scores that are well below most other schools in the county. The data does not include information on staffing, discipline, or attendance, so those areas remain unexamined here. A family considering this school would want to visit, talk to the principal about academic supports and interventions, and get a sense of the school’s climate and any specialty programs that might exist. The school’s peer environment is homogeneous in terms of race and likely economic background, and the neighborhood housing market is depressed relative to the region. The school itself does not have a stated magnet or charter status, so it operates as a traditional neighborhood school within the district’s attendance boundaries.
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