The top reported proficiency rate is 88% in Social studies. The lowest is 34% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on New Middleton Elementary
New Middleton Elementary serves children from pre-kindergarten through second grade in Gordonsville, a small town in Smith County that is part of the broader Nashville metro area. Because the school’s grade band stops well before the start of state testing in third grade, there are no current state assessment results to report. The only available testing data comes from the 2016-17 school year, when the school still served third-graders, though that information is now several years old and the state’s testing program has changed since then. For the current pre-K-to-second-grade population, academic performance measures simply do not apply.
The school’s enrollment is small, which is typical for an early-elementary building in a rural district. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students who are Hispanic, Asian, Black, or identify as two or more races. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available, so a family looking for that context would want to ask the school directly.
Gordonsville itself is a low-density, car-dependent town with a Main Street corridor and a mix of residential areas and limited commercial activity. Manufacturing, retail trade, and educational services are the largest employment sectors. The town’s population grew modestly over the past decade, and housing values in the area are below both the state and national benchmarks, consistent with the region’s reputation for affordable living. The district, Smith County Schools, approved a budget for the 2024-25 school year without a property tax increase, which included raises for employees and funding for a new school resource officer and additional instructional technology. The district has also been discussing the possibility of building a new middle school facility, though that project remains under consideration and has not yet been approved.
Because New Middleton Elementary only serves the earliest grades, the school is by definition a starting point. Families with children in pre-K through second grade will find a small environment where the focus is on foundational literacy, numeracy, and social development. There is no graduation rate to consider, no advanced coursework, and no secondary-level programming. A parent whose child is approaching third grade would be looking ahead to whichever elementary school in the Smith County district picks up at that grade level, and would want to investigate the academic performance data available for those schools. For the early years, the school’s size and grade configuration are the dominant facts; the available testing record is too old and from a different assessment era to carry weight. A family considering this school should ask about early literacy supports, class sizes, and how the school prepares children for the transition to the upper elementary grades where state testing begins.
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