Bristow Elementary, Bowling Green KY

Original Research by School Decision on Bristow Elementary

Bristow Elementary serves students from preschool through sixth grade in the Warren County school system. The school is located on the outskirts of Bowling Green, a city shaped by manufacturing, Western Kentucky University, and steady growth along the Interstate 65 corridor. Housing in the school’s ZIP code area is priced near the statewide typical level, with home values showing modest annual gains and rents rising slightly faster than the national rent-of-shelter index. For a family evaluating this attendance zone, the area represents the suburban and exurban edge of a growing regional center, with the university and downtown a reasonable drive away.

The student body includes a substantial share of children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Racially and ethnically, a majority of students are white, with notable shares identifying as Hispanic, Black, two or more races, and Asian. The school is a regular public elementary, not a charter or magnet, and operates under the Warren County district’s administration. State testing data from the most recent available year gives a picture of academic performance that is mixed and varies noticeably by grade and subject.

In mathematics, proficiency rates across grades three through six show a range. Third graders performed at a level that might be described as roughly even with the midpoint of the statewide distribution. Fourth graders were close to that same range. Fifth graders posted a rate that is lower, a drop that could reflect a harder test, a different cohort, or both. Sixth graders recovered some ground, landing back near the middle of the band. In English language arts, the pattern is different. Third graders posted a rate slightly below the midpoint. Fourth graders exceeded that, landing above the midpoint. Fifth graders were around the middle again. Sixth graders recorded the strongest ELA result in the school, a clear bright spot. Science is tested in fourth grade only, and the proficiency rate there was lower than any of the math or ELA grades. Social studies, tested in fifth grade, fell in the middle of the range for that subject statewide.

Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint relative to other Warren County public schools. That is a meaningful comparison because the county contains only two districts, Warren County Schools and Bowling Green Independent Schools. Being above the midpoint in that two-district comparison means Bristow’s composite performance is toward the stronger end among the county’s public elementary schools, though the gap between the top and bottom is narrow. A parent should look at the individual grade-level results, especially the dip in fifth-grade math and the low fourth-grade science rate, and ask the principal how the school addresses those weak spots. The fourth-grade science result in particular may merit a conversation, since it is the only tested science grade in elementary and a low mark there could signal a gap in curriculum or instruction.

No data was available for chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing, so those dimensions cannot be assessed from the evidence here. The school does not serve high school grades, so no graduation rate applies. No program offerings such as gifted, special education, or arts were reported in the available data. The district brief was not successfully retrieved, so any recent changes or strategic moves at the Warren County level are not part of this account. A parent seeking a fuller picture would want to visit the school, ask about services for students with disabilities, English learners, and advanced learners, and check whether the school’s approach to instruction aligns with their child’s needs.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 349%

School 49% · District 44% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 46% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 39% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 53% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 49% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 48% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 47% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 59% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Science

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 40% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 34% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

This schoolWarren County, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income38%Higher-income61%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income51%Higher-income52%1 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income41%Higher-income62%21 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income52%Higher-income68%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income37%Higher-income75%38 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income41%Higher-income62%21 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income24%Higher-income48%24 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income37%Higher-income58%21 pp gap