Central Elementary, Ferguson MO - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Central Elementary

Central Elementary serves the Ferguson area as an early-grades building within the Ferguson-Florissant R-II district, enrolling children from prekindergarten through second grade. Because the school ends at second grade, there are no state assessment results for those grade levels. The test data that does appear—for third through sixth grade—comes from students who have already moved on to other district elementary schools, so it does not represent Central’s current students or program.

The school’s enrollment is small, and the student body is predominantly Black, with small shares of white, multiracial, and Hispanic students. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the high level of economic need among the families the school serves. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet.

Ferguson is a predominantly residential suburb in north St. Louis County with a historic downtown along Church Street. It has a higher population density than many surrounding suburbs, though it remains a car-oriented community served by three interstate highways. The city describes strong neighborhoods, active community organizations, and growing local businesses, and it has seen substantial commercial development in recent years. At the same time, population has been declining, and the 2025 departure of Emerson Electric’s headquarters from Ferguson to Clayton represents a notable economic shift. The district itself is undergoing restructuring for the 2027-28 school year, prompted by a significant enrollment decline. Previous restructuring moves included closing two elementary schools and converting a high school into a selective STEAM academy, which has created a new school-choice dynamic within the district.

Housing in the Ferguson area is more affordable than the national median, with home values well below the state benchmark. Rents are also relatively low. The county housing market shows a median listing price that has declined over the past year, with more listings and more pending sales. For families considering a move into the area, housing costs are a realistic point of entry into the region.

On the comparison measure that places Central Elementary among its peers, the school sits in the bottom quartile of districts in St. Louis County for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. This metric, however, reflects the performance of students who have already left Central, not the instruction happening in its pre-K through second-grade classrooms. There is no graduation rate or chronic absenteeism data available for this school, which is consistent with an early-elementary building.

For a parent, the central question is what happens after second grade. Students will feed into other district elementary schools for third grade and beyond, and the district’s ongoing restructuring means those feeder patterns could change. The school’s mission is to build a foundation in the earliest years, and the available data does not allow an evaluation of how well it does that. A parent may want to ask the school directly about its early literacy and math curricula, class sizes, and how it supports students who enter with a wide range of readiness. The high economic need rate suggests the school likely offers wraparound services—meals, possibly social-emotional support—that are important to many families.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 12% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 44 pts below county median

Grade 49%

School 9% · District 12% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 9% · ▲ 34 pts above district

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

Grade 610%

School 10% · District 16% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 13% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 47 pts below county median

Grade 43%

School 3% · District 12% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 16% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 67%

School 7% · District 9% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Science

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 13% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

This schoolFERGUSON-FLORISSANT R-II, 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.