The top reported proficiency rate is 23% in Math. The lowest is 21% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Kenneth C. Hanrahan Elem.
Kenneth C. Hanrahan Elementary serves students in grades four through six in the Jennings School District, an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. The community it sits in is a predominantly residential, densely built area that has experienced population decline over the past decade and a half, though recent estimates suggest a slight rebound. The median home value in the immediate area is well below national medians, and the local economy is anchored by small commercial strips rather than large employers; most residents commute elsewhere for work. Housing in the school's zip code is notably affordable relative to state and national benchmarks, and rents are modest.
The student body is small, and the school serves an almost entirely Black student population. Every enrolled student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a high-poverty context. Data on the share of students with Individualized Education Programs or English learner status was not available. Because the school only covers upper elementary and middle school grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and the school does not offer high-school-level programs such as Advanced Placement or career and technical education pathways.
On the Missouri Assessment Program, Hanrahan's proficiency rates in math and English language arts are below the midpoint among districts in St. Louis County for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was roughly a fifth in fourth grade, a fifth in fifth grade, and a quarter in sixth grade. In English language arts, the pattern was more uneven: about a tenth of fourth graders met the proficient bar, roughly a third of fifth graders did, and about a sixth of sixth graders did. Science results for fifth grade were suppressed, which often happens when the number of students tested is too small to report publicly. A parent looking at these numbers will see a school where the large majority of students are not reaching the state's proficiency mark, particularly in fourth-grade reading and across all grades in math. This is a soft spot worth discussing directly with the school to understand what interventions or supports are in place.
The school's overall proficiency index, a composite of all tested subjects and grades, places it below the midpoint of the districts in St. Louis County. That county-level comparison set includes many districts with substantially higher proficiency rates, so the gap is a wide one. No chronic absenteeism data was available, which would be another useful metric for understanding student engagement.
Information about school leadership, specific instructional programs, and recent district-level changes was limited. The district brief search for tax levies, bond referendums, and curriculum changes turned up little that was publicly reported in a way that could be verified, so those topics are left out rather than guessed at. For a family considering this school, the core picture is of a small, high-poverty elementary school in an affordable, densely settled inner-ring suburb, where academic proficiency rates are low across both math and reading, and where a direct conversation with the school about academic support and classroom experience would be essential.
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