The top reported proficiency rate is 6% in English language arts. The lowest is 2% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Danforth Elem.
Danforth Elementary is a regular public school in St. Louis, Missouri, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It sits within the Riverview Gardens School District, a district that was unaccredited for a time and received provisional accreditation in 2020; that status has been a central concern for families, as it can influence school transfer options for students. The school itself is located in the St. Louis ZIP code that straddles the boundary between St. Louis city and St. Louis County. The housing market in that immediate area is distinct from the city and county as a whole: home values here are well below the county and national medians, and the rental market is somewhat more affordable than what you would find in many St. Louis County suburbs, with the typical rent below the region's average. The area around the school is a mix of residential neighborhoods, and the ZIP code has seen a modest decline in home values over the most recent year.
The student body is small for an elementary school. It is almost entirely composed of Black students, with a small number of white and Hispanic students enrolled. The school reports that every single student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places it in the highest poverty tier among public schools. The state did not provide information on the share of students with disabilities or English learners, so a parent would need to ask the school directly about those support services.
On the Missouri Assessment Program, the state’s standardized tests, the results are very low. In math, the share of third graders scoring at or above proficient was a very small fraction of the tested group, and fourth grade math results were similar; fifth grade math results were suppressed by the state for privacy reasons because the number of proficient students was so small. In English language arts, fourth and fifth grade results were similarly at the low end, with only a handful of students meeting the proficiency bar. In fifth grade science, the proficiency rate was also very low. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among all districts in St. Louis County, by a wide margin. These are the numbers the state publishes, and they are very consistent: attainment is extremely low in every subject and at every tested grade level. A parent considering this school would want to understand what academic interventions and supports are in place, as the current level of proficiency is far below the county average.
Because Danforth is a kindergarten-through-fifth-grade school, it does not have a graduation rate to report. No information was available on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or course access at the building level. The district’s provisional accreditation status means it operates under state monitoring, and that may affect a family’s sense of stability; for example, a family moving into the district should ask whether the provisional status has implications for their child’s future school options.
In short, Danforth Elementary serves a high-poverty, all-qualifying student population in a modest-cost housing area of St. Louis. Its test results are well below the county norm, and the district is operating under a provisional state accreditation. A family would want to investigate what academic and support programs the school offers and how the district’s status may evolve before making a decision.
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