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D.M. Smith Elementary

Public Grades 3-6

301^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 383 Mississippi Elementary Schools

Better than 21% of Mississippi elementary schools

Summary

D.M. Smith Elementary is a public elementary school in Cleveland, Mississippi, serving grades 3-6 with a total enrollment of 257 students. The school is part of the Cleveland School District, which is ranked 86 out of 130 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

D.M. Smith Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom 25% of Mississippi elementary schools over the past several years, with a ranking between 359-386 out of 381-397 schools. The school has very high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 14.6% to 25.5% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average. Academically, D.M. Smith Elementary's performance, as measured by the percentage of students proficient or better on the MAAP tests, is consistently lower than the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas.

When comparing D.M. Smith Elementary to other nearby schools within the Cleveland School District, it becomes clear that the school is underperforming compared to its peers. For example, Hayes Cooper Center for Math and Science, a magnet school in the district, consistently outperforms D.M. Smith Elementary by a significant margin, with proficiency rates that are 20-50 percentage points higher across various grade levels and subjects. This suggests that factors beyond just staffing resources may be contributing to the challenges faced by D.M. Smith Elementary.

233

Students ?

12.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,039

Per pupil spending ?

99.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

715 Martin Luther King Dr
Cleveland, MS 38732

(662) 843-4355

District: Cleveland School District

Racial breakdown:

African American:

93.6%

Two or more races:

5.2%

Asian:

0.9%

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Compare D.M. Smith Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 3rd percentile in 2019 → 21st in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 18 percentile points since 2019

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Mississippi average (35% vs 53% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (21st percentile)

!English Language Arts scores 28 pts below the Mississippi average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school35%

District avg43%

Mississippi avg53%

301^st of 383

Mississippi public elementary schools ?

Bottom 21%▲ up 19 pts since 2019

From bottom 3% (2019) to bottom 21% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Mississippi Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 5Elementary Schools in the Cleveland School District

86^th of 130Cleveland School District among Mississippi districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Mississippi percentile	Rating
2025	24.9	301 of 383	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.8	360 of 390	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.6	360 of 377	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.9	362 of 382	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	10.7	359 of 381	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.5	386 of 397	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Mississippi (2024-2025) ?

Science60%-6 vs state

Mathematics42%-10 vs state

English Language Arts23%-28 vs state

★

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Schools Near D.M. Smith Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MAAP English Language Arts (2025)				MAAP Mathematics (2025)				MAAP Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MAAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAAP Science 5th Grade	Total
D.M. Smith Elementary	Public	3-6	715 Martin Luther King Dr	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-4355	233	18	12.7	99.6%	1 (0.4%)	218 (93.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.2%)	24.9	301^st of 383 public elementary schools	21.4%		11.8	360^th of 390 public elementary schools	7.7%	59	17.3	27.8	32.5	20.9	42.7	55.6	35.7	35.4	60.4	$13,039
Nailor Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	600 Cross Street	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-4528	256	14	18.7	100.0%	2 (0.8%)	245 (95.7%)	3 (1.2%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.0%)								(n/a)										$12,045
Pearman Elementary School	Public	1-6	306 Merritt Drive	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-4484	186	12	15.7	100.0%	16 (8.6%)	141 (75.8%)	19 (10.2%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (4.8%)	10.1	360^th of 383 public elementary schools	6.0%		12.4	356^th of 390 public elementary schools	8.7%	4	40.7	20.5	20.0	20.0	7.4	25.0	14.3	33.3	32.4	$13,390
Parks Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	1301 Terrace Road	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-3166	265	17	16.0	100.0%	94 (35.5%)	120 (45.3%)	19 (7.2%)	10 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (8.3%)	21.1	326^th of 383 public elementary schools	14.9%		28.8	284^th of 390 public elementary schools	27.2%	42	25.6	18.9	55.0	29.6	36.8	18.9	40.0	37.0	50.0	$13,034
Bell Academy	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-6	1016 Taylor Street	Boyle	38730	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(662) 843-4572	327	19	17.6	100.0%	115 (35.2%)	175 (53.5%)	11 (3.4%)	6 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (6.1%)	71	108^th of 383 public elementary schools	71.8%		72.9	99^th of 390 public elementary schools	74.6%	9	53.9	53.7	72.2	59.0	46.1	58.5	52.7	92.3	77.8	$11,436
Hayes Cooper Center	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-6	500 Martin L. King	Merigold	38759	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	Yes	No	No	(662) 748-2734	304	21	14.7	100.0%	139 (45.7%)	132 (43.4%)	20 (6.6%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.3%)	67.7	121^st of 383 public elementary schools	68.4%		63	144^th of 390 public elementary schools	63.1%	23	41.9	61.3	71.0	86.7	44.2	45.2	83.9	86.7	70.9	$10,835
McEvans Elementary School	Public	K-6	601 Hwy 61 NORTH	Shaw	38773	Bolivar County	West Bolivar Consolidated School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(662) 754-6109	204	17	12.3	100.0%	3 (1.5%)	151 (74.0%)	3 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (23.0%)								(n/a)										$15,446
Ruleville Central Elementary	Public	K-5	410 L F Packer Drive	Ruleville	38771	Sunflower County	Sunflower County Consolidated School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 756-4276	271	18	14.8	100.0%	6 (2.2%)	259 (95.6%)	4 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	19.1	331^st of 383 public elementary schools	13.6%		21.2	321^st of 390 public elementary schools	17.7%	10	20.4	33.3	33.3		4.1	38.9	21.4		66.6	$12,259
I. T. Montgomery Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	202 Martin L. King Drive	Mound Bayou	38762	Bolivar County	North Bolivar Consolidated	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 333-8952	185	15	12.7	99.5%	0 (0.0%)	139 (75.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (24.9%)	43.6	219^th of 383 public elementary schools	42.8%		28.1	289^th of 390 public elementary schools	25.9%	70	39.3	30.4	50.0	38.5	42.8	47.8	50.0	57.7	72.2	$14,831
A.W. James Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	400 South Blvd	Drew	38737	Sunflower County	Sunflower County Consolidated School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 745-8892	219	17	12.6	100.0%	1 (0.5%)	207 (94.5%)	7 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.8%)	39.4	235^th of 383 public elementary schools	38.6%		55.4	175^th of 390 public elementary schools	55.1%	60	22.2	56.0	34.4		55.6	64.0	31.3		59.4	$15,006

Frequently Asked Questions about D.M. Smith Elementary

What is the racial makeup of D.M. Smith Elementary?

Students at D.M. Smith Elementary are 94% African American, 5% Two or more races.

How many students attend D.M. Smith Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 233 students attended D.M. Smith Elementary.

What district is D.M. Smith Elementary in?

Cleveland School District

Is D.M. Smith Elementary a good school?

D.M. Smith Elementary ranks in the bottom 21.4% of Mississippi elementary schools.

Rate D.M. Smith Elementary!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Mississippi Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.