Ida B. Wells Academy ES/MS vs Oakhaven Elementary

Ida B. Wells Academy ES/MS holds a 0.4-point edge over Oakhaven Elementary in overall rating — 9.4 versus 9.0 out of 10 — but both schools rank in the top 2.5% of all 1,785 Tennessee schools. Ida B. Wells Academy ES/MS sits at #11 statewide while Oakhaven Elementary lands at #41, meaning parents in Memphis are choosing between two legitimately high-performing schools rather than weighing a strong option against a weak one.

On academics, Ida B. Wells Academy ES/MS scores 8.4 out of 10 compared to Oakhaven Elementary's 7.7 — a 0.7-point delta that reflects a meaningful but not dramatic difference in tested proficiency. Growth tells the opposite story: Oakhaven Elementary edges out Ida B. Wells Academy ES/MS with a 9.9 versus 9.8 growth score, indicating that students at both schools are making exceptional year-over-year gains relative to peers statewide, with Oakhaven Elementary essentially matching its counterpart on that dimension.

The most striking contrast between the two schools is structural. Ida B. Wells Academy ES/MS enrolls just 98 students and operates at a 6.1:1 student-teacher ratio — one of the most intimate learning environments available in the city. Oakhaven Elementary serves 523 students at a 14.5:1 ratio, a more conventional scale for a Memphis elementary school. That 7.1 miles of distance between them separates two genuinely different classroom experiences even before a parent opens a test-score report.

Grade span is also a material factor. Ida B. Wells Academy ES/MS runs from kindergarten through eighth grade, meaning enrolled families stay in one building across the full elementary and middle school years. Oakhaven Elementary covers pre-K through fifth grade only, so families will need to identify a separate middle school when their child reaches sixth grade. Pre-K access at Oakhaven Elementary gives it an entry point one year earlier than Ida B. Wells Academy ES/MS offers.