The top reported proficiency rate is 30% in Math. The lowest is 10% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Star Academy
Star Academy is a public charter elementary and middle school in Memphis, part of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools district. It serves students from kindergarten through sixth grade, placing it in the earlier years of the K-12 pathway; families will need to plan for a transition to another school after sixth grade. The school is classified as a regular school under its charter status.
The student body is small for a school covering this grade band. The racial and ethnic composition is highly concentrated: a very large majority of students are Black, with a small share of Hispanic students and even smaller shares identifying as two or more races, white, or American Indian or Alaska Native. The school had no Asian or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students enrolled. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not reported, nor were counts for students with disabilities or English learners. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these supports.
On the 2024-25 Tennessee state assessments (TNReady), proficiency rates across subjects were below the midpoint when measured among districts in Shelby County—the proficiency index, which averages rates across tested subjects and grades, placed Star Academy in the bottom quarter of that comparison set. In math, roughly three in ten students scored at the proficient or advanced level. In English language arts, just under a quarter of students met that bar. Science proficiency was about the same as ELA. Social studies was notably lower, with fewer than one in ten students scoring proficient. The school had strong participation rates, indicating that nearly all enrolled students took the assessments. Because the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and chronic absenteeism data was not available.
The school is located in Memphis, a large city defined by the Mississippi River, a dense cultural and civic landscape, and a network of parks and public spaces. Locally reported highlights include the renovated Tom Lee Park downtown, Shelby Farms Park, Overton Park with the Memphis Zoo, and landmarks such as the National Civil Rights Museum, Graceland, Sun Studio, and the Stax Museum. Beale Street is a civic and cultural anchor. The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) provides public bus service. FedExForum hosts the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. The housing market in the school’s immediate area shows home values that are well below state and national benchmarks and have declined recently, while rental costs have risen. That combination may be relevant to families weighing housing affordability and stability near the school.
The parent district, Memphis-Shelby County Schools, has been the subject of publicly reported discussions about school closures and a “Reimagining 901” plan, as well as a past referendum on property taxes. The district brief did not include detailed outcomes of those discussions; a family considering Star Academy may want to ask the district or the school about any implications for facility or attendance boundaries.
Star Academy offers a charter-school environment within a large urban district, serving early and middle grades with a small, predominantly Black student body. Its academic proficiency rates are low relative to other Shelby County districts across tested subjects. Because the school does not serve beyond sixth grade, families should have a plan for the next step. The school’s location in Memphis provides access to the city’s cultural and recreational resources, and the local housing market presents a mixed picture of declining home values and rising rents.
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