The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in Science. The lowest is 25% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Barret's Chapel Elementary/middle
Barret’s Chapel Elementary/Middle serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in the town of Arlington, about a half-hour northeast of Memphis. It is a regular public school within the Memphis-Shelby County Schools district, one of several schools in the area that are part of the large county system rather than the independent Arlington Community Schools district. The school building sits on Godwin Road, in a part of Arlington that has seen steady residential growth over the past couple of decades.
Enrollment is modest for a combined elementary and middle school, with roughly three hundred students spread across the grades. The student body is majority Black, making up close to three-fifths of enrollment, with about a quarter of students White and a smaller share Hispanic. A small number of students identify as Asian or two or more races. The school does not report the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, nor does it report counts of students with disabilities or English learners, so a family looking for that context would need to ask the school directly.
State testing results from the most recent school year place Barret’s Chapel toward the lower end of academic performance in Shelby County. On the Tennessee TNReady assessments, roughly three out of ten students scored at the proficient level or above in both math and English language arts. Science proficiency was a bit higher, while social studies was lower. Participation in the state tests was complete, meaning nearly every enrolled student took the exams. When compared with other schools across the county’s districts, the school’s overall proficiency index sat in the bottom quarter, well below the county median. That gap is a meaningful signal for parents to consider: achievement here is substantially lower than at many neighboring schools, and a family would want to investigate what academic supports and interventions are in place.
Because the school serves only through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The data also does not include chronic absenteeism figures, discipline records, or course access information, so the full picture of the school environment is incomplete.
Arlington itself has been growing quickly. Once a small railroad depot town, it has expanded into a suburban community of single-family homes with a rural-adjacent feel. Most residents own their homes, and housing values in the area are above the state average, with a typical home costing in the low four-hundred-thousand range and rents around two thousand dollars a month. The town has added commercial development, including a freestanding emergency department and a planned veterans’ home. Street life is centered on historic Depot Square, where seasonal concerts, a farmers market, and festivals draw residents, but the overall built environment is car-dependent, with subdivisions and highway-oriented strips.
For a family choosing a school, Barret’s Chapel offers a full pre-K through eighth grade program in a single building, which can simplify transitions. The school’s size is manageable, and participation in state testing was high, indicating that students are consistently in the testing pool. However, the test results clearly lag behind most other schools in the county, and a parent would be wise to ask the school about its curriculum, intervention strategies, and how it supports students who are not meeting proficiency benchmarks. The absence of data on economic disadvantage and special services means a family should verify directly whether the school has the resources to meet their child’s needs. Arlington’s growth and relatively high housing costs suggest an upwardly mobile community, but this school’s academic profile does not mirror that affluence. Parents considering Barret’s Chapel should weigh its convenience and stability against the evident challenge of raising student achievement.
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