The top reported proficiency rate is 22% in English language arts. The lowest is 16% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Southwest Elementary
Southwest Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Williston, a very small, predominantly rural town in Fayette County, Tennessee. The town has a compact historic core centered on a town square and is known for landmarks such as the Crawford Store, which has operated for generations and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Williston’s population has been gradually declining over recent years, and its municipal operation is minimal. The town’s housing values run above the statewide median, a pattern that may reflect its location east of the Memphis metropolitan area and the character of the rural historic district.
The school enrolls a student body of modest size for an elementary, and is part of Fayette County Public Schools, which is the only school district in the county. The student population is composed primarily of students who identify as Black or White, with smaller shares of Hispanic students, multiracial students, and a very small number of students who are American Indian or Alaska Native. Information on the share of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals was not available in the data reviewed, nor were counts of students receiving special education services or designated as English learners. A family may want to ask the school directly about the level of economic need and the types of support available.
Across the state assessments administered in math, English language arts, and science, the share of students scoring at the proficient level or above was modest. In math and science, roughly one in six students reached that benchmark. In English language arts, roughly one in five did. Participation rates on these tests were very high, meaning nearly all enrolled students took the assessments. Social studies data is older and from a different assessment, so it offers less current insight into performance in that subject. The school serves only elementary grades, so there are no graduation rate data to consider.
Because Fayette County has only one school district, no comparisons to neighboring districts within the county were possible. The district brief yielded no recent changes or strategic initiatives of lasting impact, so that context is not available to describe here. Similarly, information about course offerings, extracurricular programs, staffing levels, and discipline was absent from the data reviewed.
Southwest Elementary sits in a quiet, historically rooted rural community that has seen population decline. The academic results on state tests place proficiency at relatively low levels across the core subjects. Parents considering this school may want to learn more about how the school supports students who are not yet at grade level, what enrichment or intervention programs are in place, and how the district intends to address both the demographic trends in the town and the academic outcomes the school is reporting.
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