The top reported proficiency rate is 13% in Math. The lowest is 7% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Kipp Victory Academy
KIPP Victory Academy is a public charter school in St. Louis that serves kindergarten through fourth grade. It is part of the KIPP St. Louis Public Schools network, a charter management organization. The school is located in the city’s south side, near the intersection of Arcade Avenue and the surrounding residential blocks. Because it covers only elementary grades, there are no graduation rate data and no high school outcomes to examine. State testing results are available for the grades that are assessed.
The student body is small for an elementary school, with enrollment around that size for its grade band. Nearly every student who attends qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a high-poverty population. The racial composition is overwhelmingly Black, with a very small number of Hispanic and multiracial students. The school does not report the share of students with disabilities or English learners in the data we have, so a family would need to ask the school directly about those populations and the support structures in place.
On the Missouri Assessment Program, the school’s proficiency rates are low. In third-grade math, the share of students scoring at or above the proficient level was in the single digits on the lower end of double digits. In fourth-grade math it was similar. In English language arts, the rates were even lower: third grade and fourth grade both showed rates that were well below the statewide average in what any reasonable observer would consider a weak result. Overall, across both subjects and grades tested, the combined proficiency index places KIPP Victory Academy in the bottom quartile relative to other districts within St. Louis city. This is a significant soft spot. The scores come from a single school year, so there is no trend line to see whether improvement is underway. A parent considering this school would want to discuss academic performance and intervention strategies with the leadership directly.
The school’s charter status means it operates independently of the traditional St. Louis Public Schools system, though it is publicly funded. The district brief for its charter network turned up little in the way of recent notable changes or announcements, so there is no evidence of major restructuring, program expansions, or leadership transitions that might influence a family’s decision.
St. Louis itself is an independent city with a mixed economy that includes manufacturing, service, trade, transportation, and aviation. Major employers include the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and several universities such as Washington University and Saint Louis University. The city’s civic and cultural anchors—the Gateway Arch, Forest Park, the Zoo, the City Museum, the Missouri Botanical Garden—are well-known draws, though the school’s immediate neighborhood is more working-class residential than downtown destination. Housing values in the school’s ZIP code are below the national and state medians, and rents have been rising modestly. The city’s population has declined over the long term, but the metro area remains sizable.
KIPP Victory Academy fits a family seeking a public charter elementary option with a small, uniform student body in a high-poverty urban setting. The academic results are a clear concern, and anyone considering the school would be wise to request recent classroom-level data, observe instruction, and understand the school’s approach to raising achievement. The school does not have the breadth of programs or upper-level coursework that a secondary school would offer; it is focused on early elementary foundations. For a family in the south St. Louis area, this school is one among several charter and district options, and the test scores suggest it warrants careful scrutiny.
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