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D.M. Smith Elementary

Public Grades 3-6

289^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 377 Mississippi Elementary Schools

Better than 23% of Mississippi elementary schools

Summary

D.M. Smith Elementary is a 3–6 grade elementary school in Cleveland, MS, serving 233 students in the Cleveland School District. The school serves a very high-poverty population, with 99.57% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch in 2024–2025, and has a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 12.7 compared to nearby schools. D.M. Smith is currently ranked 288th out of 377 Mississippi elementary schools for the 2025–2026 school year, placing it in the 24th percentile with 1 star — a significant improvement from past years when it ranked near the bottom of the state.

One of D.M. Smith's standout strengths is attendance. In 2023–2024, its chronic absenteeism rate was just 14.6%, compared to 22.7% for the district and 23.9% statewide. Nearby schools like Parks Elementary School (22.9%), Nailor Elementary School (24.6%), and West Bolivar Elementary (24.8%) all had higher chronic absenteeism. The school also shows academic strengths in certain areas. Its 5th grade science proficiency was 70.7%, essentially matching the state average of 71.5% and beating most nearby schools. Similarly, 6th grade math proficiency reached 55.3%, above the state average of 52.7%. The low student-teacher ratio — compared to Parks Elementary School at 16.0 and Pearman Elementary School at 15.7 — means smaller class sizes.

The biggest challenge is early-grade literacy. D.M. Smith's 3rd grade ELA proficiency was just 12.9% in 2025–2026, compared to the state average of 48.5% — the lowest among all nearby schools. 3rd grade math also dropped from 42.7% to 23.0% year-over-year, though such swings may reflect small class cohorts. It's worth noting the school has shown real improvement over time, rising from the 3rd percentile in 2018–2019 to the 24th percentile today. Same-district schools Hayes Cooper Center and Bell Academy, serving similar poverty levels, perform much better, suggesting room for growth. Overall, D.M. Smith is an improving school with strong attendance and select academic bright spots, but has significant work ahead in early-grade reading and math.

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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At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 3rd percentile in 2019 → 23rd in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 20 percentile points since 2019

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Mississippi average (38% vs 53% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (23rd percentile)

!English Language Arts scores 19 pts below the Mississippi average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school38%

District avg44%

Mississippi avg53%

289^th of 377

Mississippi public elementary schools ?

Bottom 23%▲ up 21 pts since 2019

From bottom 3% (2019) to bottom 23% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Mississippi Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 5Elementary Schools in the Cleveland School District

89^th of 133Cleveland 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
2026	28.2	289 of 377	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
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 (2025-2026) ?

Science71%~ state avg

Mathematics35%-15 vs state

English Language Arts32%-19 vs state

★

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Schools Near D.M. Smith Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MAAP English Language Arts (2026)				MAAP Mathematics (2026)				MAAP Science (2026)	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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	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%)	28.2	289^th of 377 public elementary schools	23.3%		24.9	301^st of 383 public elementary schools	21.4%	12	12.9	33.8	46.6	38.3	23.0	38.3	29.3	55.3	70.7	$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%)	5.5	375^th of 377 public elementary schools	0.5%		10.1	360^th of 383 public elementary schools	6.0%	15	26.6	21.4	28.0	14.7	10.0	21.4	16.3	20.5	34.9	$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%)	31.1	272^nd of 377 public elementary schools	27.9%		21.1	326^th of 383 public elementary schools	14.9%	54	40.0	48.3	44.1	54.2	28.6	37.9	14.7	54.2	47.1	$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%)	64.4	125^th of 377 public elementary schools	66.8%		71	108^th of 383 public elementary schools	71.8%	17	48.6	52.6	52.7	74.3	51.3	63.2	50.0	94.3	61.1	$11,436
Hayes Cooper Center	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-6	500 Martin L. King	Merigold	38733	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%)	65.3	121^st of 377 public elementary schools	67.9%		67.7	121^st of 383 public elementary schools	68.4%		57.5	42.1	69.7	58.6	55.0	29.0	78.8	82.8	72.7	$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%)	23.9	305^th of 377 public elementary schools	19.1%					(n/a)	29.0	60.9	33.3	20.0	31.6	69.5	8.3	5.7	58.3	$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%)	13.7	336^th of 377 public elementary schools	10.9%		19.1	331^st of 383 public elementary schools	13.6%	5	32.5	22.4	43.2		35.0	6.1	18.9		50.0	$12,259
Isaiah T. Montgomery Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	202 Martin L. King Drive	Mound Bayou	38762	Bolivar County	North Bolivar Consolidated School District	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%)	41.8	223^rd of 377 public elementary schools	40.8%		43.6	219^th of 383 public elementary schools	42.8%	4	31.8	37.9	40.0	37.5	36.3	41.4	60.0	56.3	90.0	$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%)	46.1	208^th of 377 public elementary schools	44.8%		39.4	235^th of 383 public elementary schools	38.6%	27	47.0	47.0	48.4		55.9	52.9	38.7		58.1	$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 23.3% of Mississippi elementary schools.

Rate D.M. Smith Elementary!

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Latest Mississippi data All new data »

2025–26 MAAP test scoresAug 21, 2026

2023–24 school spending dataSep 26, 2025

2023–24 through 2024–25 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 26, 2025

2023–24 graduation ratesSep 23, 2025

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.