The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in Math. The lowest is 37% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Pope School
Pope School is a regular public elementary and middle school in Jackson, Tennessee, serving kindergarten through sixth grade as part of the Madison County school system. It is not a charter school. The school sits on the western side of the city, near the Old Humboldt Road corridor, an area that blends residential and commercial uses within the broader Jackson landscape.
Jackson itself functions as the regional hub for West Tennessee. Its economy is anchored by healthcare, manufacturing, and six colleges and universities. The city has a modest growth pattern and an auto-oriented built environment, with major commercial strips along Highland Avenue and near the Interstate 40 exits. The downtown square retains a traditional layout and hosts the Carl Perkins Civic Center, but most of the city’s day-to-day activity happens along roads designed for cars rather than pedestrians.
Pope School has a student body that reflects the diversity of the area. The population is composed substantially of Black students and also includes a meaningful share of White students, with smaller groups of Hispanic, multiracial, and Asian students. Data on economic disadvantage, students with disabilities, and English learner status was not available in the source materials for this school, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals and the supports available for special populations.
The school serves only through sixth grade, so there is no graduation rate to report. Because it is a middle-elementary school, the academic measures that are available come from the state’s TNReady assessments for grades three through eight. Pope students take these tests across four subjects. Participation in testing was complete, meaning nearly every enrolled student took the assessments.
In math, a solid majority of students scored at the proficient level or above. This is a clear strength and signals that the school is delivering strong results in mathematics instruction. In science, a smaller but still substantial share of students reached proficiency, which is a respectable showing for an elementary and middle school. The picture is more mixed in English language arts, where just over a third of students met the proficiency bar. Social studies results were in a similar range. For a parent, the ELA and social studies scores are areas worth understanding better. The school’s overall performance is strongest in math and science, while literacy and social studies are softer spots that may reflect broader instructional priorities or the composition of the student body.
The data available does not include information about course access, staffing ratios, discipline rates, or chronic absenteeism. These are common gaps for a school website or district report. A family considering Pope School would do well to ask about class sizes, the range of academic supports available for students who are below grade level, and what enrichment or intervention programs exist in the upper elementary grades.
Housing in the area around the school is priced near the midpoint among Jackson-area neighborhoods, and rents are moderate relative to incomes. The monthly cost of owning a home is somewhat higher than renting, which is typical for this part of Tennessee. For families moving into the area, the Jackson housing market offers a range of options, from older homes closer to the center to newer subdivisions near the interstate exits.
The comparison data available for Pope School is limited because there were not enough other districts in Madison County to make a meaningful county-level academic comparison. That is a function of the small number of districts in the county rather than a reflection on the school. Without a local benchmark, the best context is the school’s own performance profile: math is a clear strength, science is solid, and ELA and social studies are areas where the school has more work to do.
For a parent, Pope School offers a diverse, mid-sized elementary and middle school setting with a strong math program and a science showing that is above where many similar schools land. The weaker literacy scores suggest that a family with a child who needs strong reading support may want to investigate what interventions the school has in place. The lack of available data on economic disadvantage and special education means that a parent should plan to ask specifically about these areas during a school visit. The school’s location in a regional hub city with a diversified economy means that there are employment and higher education resources nearby, but the day-to-day experience is suburban in feel rather than urban.
See more original research from School Decision →