The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in Social studies. The lowest is 34% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Hornsby Elementary
Hornsby Elementary sits in the middle of a very small rural town in Hardeman County, Tennessee, serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is a regular public school with just one building, and for many families in the immediate area it is the only school their children will attend until high school. The school shares its site with a historic civic landmark: a pavilion sheltering one of the town’s original artesian wells, which has been open to visitors for generations. That placement—school and town well side by side—captures how centrally the school figures in the life of this shrinking community.
On state assessments given in the 2024-25 school year, a modest share of students scored at the proficient level in both math and English language arts, and a slightly smaller share did so in science. Proficient in social studies was about the same range. None of these results reached a majority. A parent may want to look into the school’s instructional support and academic trajectory further, particularly since there is no available data on special education, English learner services, or the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Those gaps leave important questions about resources and student supports unanswered based on what is publicly reported. Testing participation was complete, so the results reflect the full tested population.
The school’s demographics show a student body that is predominantly white, with a smaller group of Black students and very small numbers of Hispanic and multiracial students. Enrollment is small, with about a couple hundred students across ten grade levels from kindergarten through eighth grade plus a pre-kindergarten class. This means class sizes are likely modest, and students spend their entire elementary and middle school career in one building. There is no high school on this campus; students who live in the area move on to a district high school elsewhere in Hardeman County.
Hornsby itself is a town of residential streets clustered along U.S. Highway 64, with a population that has been declining over recent years. The median household income in the town is below the national average, and the poverty rate is not low. Housing values in the broader area—the school is in the same ZIP code—are well below state and national benchmarks, making homeownership relatively affordable, especially for first-time buyers or families on a budget. A new four-lane bypass is under construction that will route through traffic south of town, but no major new housing subdivisions or commercial growth were identified in public sources. The town’s economy is small; the municipal government employs only a handful of people, and most residents likely commute to Bolivar, the county seat, or other towns for work.
Because Hardeman County has only one school district, there is no basis for comparison with other districts in the county. That means a parent cannot gauge Hornsby Elementary against a local peer on metrics like proficiency rates or attendance. The district itself has had no noteworthy recent changes that would affect families, based on available information.
For a family looking to settle in a quiet, rural area with affordable housing and a very small school where children from pre-K through middle school attend together, Hornsby Elementary provides that setting. The academic performance data points to room for growth in core subjects, which a parent may want to discuss with the school or the district. The school is also the kind of place where a child can walk across the parking lot and see a piece of the town’s history under a pavilion. That is the character of the school: small, local, and deeply woven into a town that is slowly shrinking but still holds its elementary school at the center.
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