The top reported proficiency rate is 27% in Math. The lowest is 23% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Star Hill Elementary School
Star Hill Elementary School sits in Dover, the capital of Delaware, and operates within the Caesar Rodney School District. The school's listed grade band runs from prekindergarten through kindergarten, and its current enrollment is small, with the large majority of children in prekindergarten and a handful in kindergarten. This makes it an early-childhood entry point rather than a full elementary school, and families looking here are choosing a place where their youngest children would begin formal schooling before moving on to other schools in the district for the upper grades.
Dover itself is a city with deep historical roots. The Green serves as the central civic square, ringed by the Old State House, Legislative Hall, the Delaware Supreme Court, and the Kent County Courthouse. Downtown Dover also hosts the Delaware State Library, the Delaware State Museum, and the Delaware State Archives, all open to the public. The Sewell C. Biggs Museum of American Art holds collections spanning Colonial days to the present, and the John Dickinson Plantation just south of the city preserves the childhood home of the Revolutionary-era statesman. Dover Motor Speedway draws NASCAR races annually, and the Firefly Music Festival has taken place in the speedway's Woodlands. The Dover Mall along the US 13 corridor is the area's only shopping mall. The city sits on the St. Jones River in the Delaware River coastal plain.
The housing market around the school is moderate by both state and national standards. Typical home values in the school's zip code sit below the Delaware state benchmark and modestly below the national benchmark, with a slight year-over-year appreciation. Rents are also comparatively affordable, with rent absorbing a manageable share of typical household income. For families considering buying or renting near the school, the cost of living in this part of Kent County is lower than in many parts of the state.
One thing parents should know is that the state assessment data attached to this school tells a complicated story. The school's current grade band, prekindergarten through kindergarten, does not include grades that take state tests. Delaware begins testing in grade 3. Despite this, the data includes proficiency results for grades 3 through 8, with tested counts far exceeding the school's current enrollment. This suggests the assessment results may reflect a different grade configuration or an earlier period in the school's history. The most recent reported results, from the current school year, show low proficiency across all tested subjects, with roughly a quarter of tested students reaching proficiency in math and English language arts and a smaller share in science. Social studies proficiency was suppressed, though participation was reported as full.
The longer trend is striking. Going back several years, proficiency rates at this school were far higher, with most students reaching proficiency in both math and reading. Over time those numbers declined steeply, bottoming out a few years ago before ticking upward in the most recent results. Wherever the school currently stands in its configuration, the trend line shows a substantial drop from where the school once performed. A parent may want to look into this further with the school or district to understand what changed and what the current learning environment looks like for young children.
Against its peer set, the school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint among districts in Kent County. No graduation rate applies, since the school does not serve high school grades. Chronic absenteeism data was not available. Free or reduced-price lunch counts, special education rates, and English learner figures were all missing from the available data, so the socioeconomic picture of the student body is incomplete. The racial and ethnic composition of the currently enrolled children is predominantly white, with a meaningful share of Black students and a smaller share of Hispanic students.
What families get at Star Hill is a small, early-grade school in a historically rich capital city with an affordable housing market. The academic data attached to the school raises questions that the grade band alone cannot answer, and the most useful next step for any parent would be a direct conversation with the school about what those numbers reflect and how the school currently serves its young learners.
See more original research from School Decision →