The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in English language arts. The lowest is 43% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Grahamwood Elementary
Grahamwood Elementary is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Memphis, Tennessee, within the Memphis-Shelby County Schools district. With an enrollment that is substantial for an elementary school, it draws from a neighborhood in the city where housing values are well below the state and national benchmarks, and rents have been rising modestly. The school itself sits on Summer Avenue, a corridor in the eastern part of Memphis, and operates as a standard, non-charter, non-magnet public school.
The student body at Grahamwood is diverse. The largest racial or ethnic group is Hispanic, followed by Black students, then White students, with smaller shares of students who are Asian, two or more races, and a very small number of American Indian or Alaska Native students. The school does not report the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, nor does it report counts for students with disabilities or English learners, so a parent looking for that context would need to check directly with the school or district.
Academically, Grahamwood participates in Tennessee’s state testing program, TNReady, for grades three through eight. In the most recent school year, the school’s proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science all fell in a similar range, with a slightly higher share of students meeting or exceeding standards in ELA than in math, and science landing near the middle. Social studies data is from a prior school year and is considered less comparable due to assessment changes, but it too sat in a similar range. Across all tested subjects and grades, a composite measure places Grahamwood’s overall proficiency below the midpoint relative to districts in Shelby County. That means other elementary schools in the county, on average, posted higher proficiency rates, though a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how results vary by grade or student group. Participation rates in testing were very high, which adds confidence to the reported results.
Because Grahamwood serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not offer high-school-level programs like Advanced Placement or dual credit, nor does its data indicate career pathways typical at that level. There is no information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or course access in the available data, so those dimensions are not part of this account.
The Memphis context for a family considering this school is shaped by the city’s amenities. The Mississippi River is a defining feature, and Tom Lee Park downtown underwent a large renovation a few years ago, adding ballcourts, trails, and bike stands. Shelby Farms Park in East Memphis is a large urban park, and Overton Park in midtown houses the Memphis Zoo. Beale Street remains a civic and cultural anchor, and cultural landmarks include the National Civil Rights Museum, Graceland, Sun Studio, and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. The Memphis Area Transit Authority provides public bus service, with board members appointed by the mayor. FedExForum downtown is home to the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. These are publicly reported details that give a sense of the broader environment.
What stands out about Grahamwood is its size and diversity. The school is large for an elementary, with multiple sections per grade, and its student body reflects a broad mix of backgrounds. The housing in its zip code is more affordable than much of the country, though home values have seen a slight recent decline. For a family looking for a neighborhood elementary within Memphis’s public school system, Grahamwood provides a regular, non-specialized program with state test results that are below the county median. Those results may matter more to some parents than others, depending on their priorities. The absence of free-lunch and special-population data means a parent cannot easily gauge the school’s socioeconomic or support-service profile from this dataset alone. A direct conversation with the school or a visit would likely fill that gap.
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