The top reported proficiency rate is 81% in English language arts. The lowest is 74% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Reed Elementary
Reed Elementary serves kindergarten through fourth grade in the Ladue School District, and it is a school where academic performance stands out clearly against the broader St. Louis County landscape.
On state math and English language arts assessments, Reed’s results place it among the top tier of schools relative to districts across St. Louis County. In third-grade math, a strong majority of students met the proficiency bar, and fourth-grade math was even higher. In English, the pattern was similar, with third-grade proficiency well above the county midpoint and fourth-grade English reaching a notably high level. The only science data available dates back more than a decade, so it offers no current read on that subject. Even so, the picture that emerges from the recent testing years is a school where most students are performing at grade-level or above in the core elementary subjects, by a margin that exceeds what most other districts in the county see.
The student body is small for a public elementary school, serving grades kindergarten through fourth. The racial and ethnic composition is predominantly White, with Asian students and Black students each making up a modest share, and Hispanic students and students identifying as two or more races present in smaller numbers. A small fraction of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker that points to a relatively affluent student population overall. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent wanting to understand those supports would need to ask the school directly.
The school sits within the Ladue School District, which in 2021 passed a bond referendum that funded major renovations at Reed and every other elementary school in the district, along with the middle school. Those renovations were completed in 2024, so the physical facilities families encounter today are recently updated. The tax implications of that bond are part of the district’s debt service levy, a factor for any resident or prospective homebuyer weighing the full cost of living in the attendance zone.
Reed is located in St. Louis, an independent city with a broad mix of neighborhoods and a diverse economy anchored by major employers in health care, higher education, research, and federal agencies. The area includes well-known cultural institutions, though the school’s specific attendance zone is within the Ladue district boundaries, which cover parts of St. Louis County. The housing market in the broader area shows elevated home values, and the school’s ZIP code reflects a high-cost market relative to the county as a whole. The local housing market has seen price shifts, and the median listing price in the county has softened somewhat, but homes in the Reed attendance area remain expensive compared to typical county averages. For a family considering a move to this attendance zone, the combination of high home costs and the district’s debt service levy means a significant housing investment.
Because Reed only runs through fourth grade, there are no graduation rate data to report, and no high school program information is relevant here. Families will need to track which middle and high school their child will feed into within the Ladue district. The school is a traditional regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status is not reported, which given the low share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch suggests the school likely does not receive federal Title I funding.
For a family looking at this school, the academic results are the headline. Reed is performing at a level that places it among the stronger elementary schools in St. Louis County. The student peer group, in socioeconomic terms, is largely from higher-income households. The school is small, recently renovated, and sits in a high-cost housing market. The main gaps in publicly available data are around special education and English learner populations, so a parent with a child who may need those services would benefit from a direct conversation with the school.
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