The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in Social studies. The lowest is 33% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Black Oak Elementary
Black Oak Elementary is a regular public school in the Obion County district, serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is the school for the very small, rural town of Hornbeak, a place originally settled in the 1870s that retains a quiet, residential character with a historic commercial block and a local ball field. The town is described as a gateway to nearby Reelfoot Lake. Major employers are not concentrated in Hornbeak itself, and residents likely commute to nearby Union City or other parts of the county for work.
The school’s enrollment is small, and the student body is overwhelmingly white. There are fewer than a handful of Black students and no other racial or ethnic groups are represented in the data. Information about students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, students with disabilities, and English learners was not available, so a family may want to ask the school about those resources directly.
Academically, Black Oak Elementary participates in Tennessee’s TNReady assessments for grades three through eight. On the most recent testing cycle, proficiency rates across subjects were mixed. Social studies showed the strongest results, with about half of students scoring at the proficient level or above. In math and science, the share of students reaching proficiency was lower, at just over two-fifths and two-fifths, respectively. English language arts was the weakest area, with about a third of students meeting the state’s proficiency benchmark. Participation rates on these tests were high, in the high nineties to 100 percent, so the results reflect nearly the full tested population. The school did not have any graduation data to report, as it does not serve high school grades.
Compared with the other districts in Obion County, Black Oak Elementary’s overall proficiency rate across all tested subjects and grades fell in the bottom quartile. The county comparison pool is small, with only two districts, so this position is based on a limited field. Still, the results suggest that families considering this school should look closely at how the school supports students in reading and math in particular, and may want to ask what academic interventions or enrichment are available.
The school’s setting is rural, with minimal commercial density and no indication of walkable streetscape or public transit. Housing values in the area are modest relative to both state and national benchmarks, and the national unemployment rate at the time of this data was typical for a stable economy. The district itself did not report any recent major changes or strategic initiatives that would be relevant to a parent’s decision. Information on course access, staffing, and discipline was also absent from the available record.
Black Oak Elementary fits a family looking for a small, rural school environment in a quiet town, with a student body that is not diverse. The school covers the full K-8 span, which can mean fewer transitions for children. However, the academic performance is mixed, with social studies as a relative strength and English language arts lagging behind. A parent may want to ask the school directly about how it identifies and supports students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks, and how it approaches instruction in the weaker subject areas.
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