The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in English language arts. The lowest is 28% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Mcdonald Elementary
McDonald Elementary serves the rural community of Mohawk, Tennessee, in western Greene County, and is one of two districts within the county. This is a regular public elementary school for pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, operating under the Greene County School District. The school’s setting is a sparsely populated, car-dependent Appalachian area where residential and agricultural land dominates. There is no downtown or commercial district; the school itself, located on McDonald Road on land originally donated for a high school, is the primary civic and educational anchor. Middle school students from this area are bused to West Greene Middle School, and high school students attend a regional high school outside the community. The community is characterized by very low population density and limited infrastructure, with a post office and a volunteer fire department as its other civic anchors. Publicly reported information notes that Mohawk’s population has experienced a modest decline in recent years, and no major residential or commercial development has been identified. Housing values in the ZIP code that includes the school sit below the state and national benchmarks, and the area presents as a quiet, settled rural landscape.
The student body at McDonald Elementary is small for an elementary school and overwhelmingly white, with a very small share of Hispanic students and a similarly small share of students identifying as two or more races. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals was not available, nor were counts for students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or English learners. A parent should check with the school directly for that information if it matters to their decision.
Academically, the school’s performance on Tennessee’s TNReady state assessments presents a clear picture. In reading and English language arts, roughly two out of every five students scored at a proficient level or above. In mathematics, a bit more than one out of four students reached that same threshold. In science, the proficiency rate falls between those two. Social studies results are from an older testing year and showed a rate similar to science. Taken together, these results place the school’s overall proficiency level in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Greene County. The comparison is a small set of only two districts, so the gap is narrow but noticeable; the other district’s students as a group scored higher across the tested subjects and grades. Participation rates on the assessments were very high, meaning the results reflect nearly all enrolled students in the tested grades.
Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and data on chronic absenteeism and discipline were not available in the provided information. Course access information, including any advanced or enrichment offerings at this grade level, was also absent from the data.
McDonald Elementary offers a straightforward academic pathway for elementary-aged children in a rural Greene County community. The school is the central institution in Mohawk, and the surrounding housing market is moderately priced for the state. Families who choose this school should be prepared for the academic results as they stand: proficiency rates in math and science are lower than the already modest ELA performance, and the school’s achievement lags the other district in the county. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what supports are in place, particularly in mathematics, given that field’s lower outcomes. For those who value a small, rural school environment in a quiet, low-density setting without commercial bustle, McDonald Elementary fits that description. The combination of limited local development, a modest housing cost context, and a school that functions as a community anchor defines the experience here.
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