The top reported proficiency rate is 42% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Vaughn Road Elementary School
Vaughn Road Elementary School sits within the Montgomery Public Schools system, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Located in Montgomery, Alabama, the school draws its enrollment from a mid-sized state capital that combines state government functions, Maxwell Air Force Base, and a sizable manufacturing sector anchored by Hyundai. The city has seen significant downtown revitalization along the Alabama River, but outside of that walkable core, Montgomery remains largely car-dependent.
The student body comprises just under five hundred children. By a very wide margin, the largest racial group is Black students, who make up the overwhelming majority of enrollment. The remainder includes a small share of students who identify as two or more races, an even smaller share of Hispanic students, and a negligible number of Asian, white, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. A substantial share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which for an elementary school in this setting indicates a high level of economic need.
State testing data is available for the most recent school year across the grades the school tests. In English language arts, proficiency rates among the tested students were below half but did not differ dramatically by grade. In third grade, roughly half of students met the state's proficiency bar, with fourth and fifth grade figures a bit lower. In mathematics, the picture is different. Proficiency rates were markedly lower, with a declining trend from third through fifth grade, and the fifth-grade rate was particularly low. Fourth-grade science results also showed that fewer than a quarter of students tested as proficient. Looking at these results in the context of Montgomery County, the school sits above the midpoint among the county's districts on an overall proficiency index, meaning its combined performance across tested subjects and grades is stronger than some neighboring districts but not as strong as others.
A parent or resident should note that the data covers only a single year, so there is no trend line to show whether these levels represent an improvement, a decline, or a holding pattern. This is the first point available, and the school may well have a longer story that the current data does not capture.
On staffing and student support, the available information is sparse. There is no reported data on staffing levels, class sizes, or chronic absenteeism. Discipline records, if they exist, were not available for this profile. A reader who wants to understand whether there is a robust counseling staff or how the school manages behavior should contact the school directly. Similarly, information on special education identification rates and English learner enrollment is missing; those are common data points at the school level, and their absence here is a meaningful gap for any family with a child who might need those services.
The school follows a regular instructional model; it is not a charter school. No magnet or Title I designation was reported in the available data, though the high share of students qualifying for meal assistance would typically put a school in a category that receives federal support. The school building is located on Vaughn Road, which runs through a residential area of Montgomery. Housing values in the zip code are modest relative to national benchmarks, and rents have been rising. For a family considering a move into the attendance zone, the cost of living is a clear part of the appeal.
Vaughn Road Elementary serves a high-need population, and its students face real academic challenges, particularly in math. For a family weighing this school, the central questions likely revolve around the supports offered for struggling students and the school's capacity to address the gaps the testing data reveals. The district did not produce any recent parent-relevant changes in the public record, so a family may need to gather information directly from the school or the district office to understand current initiatives, programming, or leadership direction.
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