The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Math. The lowest is 42% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Westridge Elementary
Westridge Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in Frankfort, Kentucky, as part of the Franklin County school district. It is a regular public school, and it sits within a small state capital that blends government, university life, and bourbon distilling. The Kentucky River splits the city into a compact downtown core and more auto-oriented suburban areas to the east and west, and the school draws from across that broader community.
On the Kentucky Summative Assessment, Westridge’s performance in math and reading follows a pattern that parents should look at closely. In third grade, a solid majority of students met the state’s proficiency benchmark in both math and reading. Fourth grade reading was similar, while fourth grade math was slightly lower but still above half. Fifth grade was the soft spot: math proficiency dropped, and reading proficiency fell further, with less than half of students scoring at the proficient level. Fifth grade social studies results also sat near that mark. Fourth grade science, where testing data was reported, showed a similar share. The numbers suggest that as students move into upper elementary, the share reaching proficiency declines, particularly in reading. A parent may want to ask the school what supports are in place for fifth graders and how the transition between grade levels is handled.
Westridge’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Franklin County. That comparison set is small, with only two districts in the county, but the school’s combined index is well above the other district’s. Still, the pattern within the school is uneven, and a family with a child heading into fifth grade may want to look into that further.
The student body is primarily white, with small shares of Hispanic, Black, Asian, and multiracial students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the economic mix of the area. The school is not a charter or magnet, and Title I status was not reported in the data. No information was available on discipline, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or course access beyond the tested grades. The school serves only elementary grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.
Frankfort itself is shaped by state government employment, manufacturing, and a few distilleries, including Buffalo Trace. The city has a historic downtown along the river, with Kentucky State University nearby as a public HBCU land-grant institution. Housing in the area, based on data for the school’s ZIP code, shows home values that are somewhat higher than the state benchmark but below the national average. Rents have been rising modestly, while home values saw a small year-over-year decline. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was just above six percent at the time of the data, and the national unemployment rate was consistent with a stable labor market. For families moving to the area, housing affordability is a mixed picture: the estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home is somewhat higher than the median rent, which may influence where households choose to rent or buy.
The district brief for Franklin County Schools did not surface any recent major changes or strategic priorities that would shift the experience for elementary families, so the school’s daily operation is likely steady. Westridge offers a conventional elementary program in a midsized building. The academic data shows a school that starts strong in the early grades but sees a drop-off by fifth grade in reading and math. For a parent weighing options, the key question is how the school addresses that upper-elementary slide and whether the supports available fit their child’s needs. The setting is a small capital city with a mix of government and industrial employment, and the school’s demographic and economic profile is typical for a public elementary in this part of Kentucky.
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