Summary:
The Lauderdale County School District in Mississippi includes four elementary schools—West Lauderdale Elementary School, Northeast Elementary School, Southeast Elementary School, and Clarkdale Elementary School—serving grades PK–4 (with Clarkdale extending through 6th grade) in a district that ranks in the 87th percentile statewide.
Clarkdale Elementary School is the clear standout, ranking 22nd in the state (94th percentile) with a 5-star rating and leading every subject and grade level by wide margins—its 5th-grade science proficiency is an extraordinary 93.7%. West Lauderdale Elementary School is the district’s second-strongest school, improving from rank 97 to 82 over three years and posting solid 4th-grade scores in both ELA (63.6%) and math (71.3%). Southeast Elementary School lands in the middle (56th percentile), with respectable 4th-grade results but a worrying 3rd-grade math rate of just 33.6% and the district’s highest chronic absenteeism at 29.5%. Northeast Elementary School is the highest-need school, ranking 277th (27th percentile) with a 1-star rating and declining over three years; only 21.0% of its 3rd graders are proficient in math, despite having the lowest student-to-teacher ratio (13.1).
Poverty strongly tracks achievement: the two higher-poverty schools, Northeast (77.8% free/reduced lunch) and Southeast (69.4%), perform well below West Lauderdale (46.1%) and Clarkdale (45.4%). Across the district, 3rd-grade math is the weakest area, with an average proficiency of 41.9% compared to 63.9% in 4th-grade math—even Clarkdale drops about 20 points from 4th to 3rd grade in math. While chronic absenteeism is a concern at Southeast, Northeast’s moderate absenteeism (21.0%) matches Clarkdale’s, suggesting other barriers are at work. Clarkdale’s sustained excellence, including strong upper-elementary science, offers a roadmap; the district’s biggest opportunity lies in replicating its practices at Northeast and Southeast.
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