The top reported proficiency rate is 23% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Beacon College Preparatory
Beacon College Preparatory is a public charter school in Memphis serving kindergarten through fourth grade. It is part of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, the large district that covers the city and the surrounding county.
The school is located in the Raleigh neighborhood of North Memphis. Memphis itself is a major city on the Mississippi River, with a population that gives it the feel of a medium-sized urban center. The city has a well-known set of cultural institutions, including the National Civil Rights Museum, Graceland, Sun Studio, and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Large parks such as Shelby Farms and Overton Park are part of the city’s recreational landscape. The Memphis Area Transit Authority provides bus service across the city. The local housing market in the zip code for this area carries a home value that sits well below the Tennessee state average, making it a relatively affordable pocket of the metro area. Rents are similarly lower than the state benchmark. A family looking at this neighborhood will find a market that is less expensive than many parts of the region.
Beacon College Preparatory enrolls a student population that is primarily Black and Hispanic, with small numbers of White, Asian, and multiracial students. The school is small for a kindergarten-through-fourth-grade building, which may appeal to families who want a more contained setting for their young children. Free and reduced-price lunch data was not reported in the data we have, so we cannot describe the economic makeup of the student body from that metric. The school’s status as a charter school means it operates with some independence from the district’s central administration, though it is still a public school that must follow state accountability rules.
On state assessments, the school’s proficiency rates in both math and English language arts were low. In science, the rate was also low. When compared with other districts across Shelby County, Beacon College Preparatory’s overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile of the comparison set. This is a school where the majority of tested students are not meeting the state’s proficiency benchmarks in core subjects. A parent reading these results may want to ask the school directly about its academic program, its approach to instruction, and any interventions or supports it offers for students who are below grade level.
Because the school serves only early elementary grades, there is no high school graduation rate to report. That is expected for a school that ends at fourth grade. Similarly, data on chronic absenteeism was not available in the sources we used. Discipline data and staffing information were also missing, so we cannot describe school environment or teacher experience from the data we have.
Beacon College Preparatory is a small, urban charter elementary school in a lower-cost Memphis neighborhood. It serves a diverse student body, but its academic performance on state tests is substantially below the district and county averages. A family considering this school would want to talk with current parents, visit the building, and ask about curriculum and student support to see whether the school’s program matches their child’s needs.
See more original research from School Decision →