The top reported proficiency rate is 18% in Math. The lowest is 2% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lemasters Elem.
Lemasters Elementary is a public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in the Riverview Gardens School District, located in north St. Louis County. The school sits within the city limits of St. Louis, an independent city with a diverse economy anchored by major research universities, the Washington University Medical Center, and federal agencies such as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. The broader St. Louis County housing market is relatively affordable compared to national benchmarks, and homes in the immediate area around the school are priced well below the county median, making the neighborhood accessible to entry-level buyers and renters.
The student body is small for an elementary school. Nearly every student is Black, with a very small number of Hispanic students and a single white student. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting concentrated poverty. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet.
Academic performance on the Missouri Assessment Program is low across every tested grade and subject. In third grade, about a third of students met the state’s proficient or advanced threshold in math, but that share fell sharply by fourth grade, where fewer than one in ten did. English language arts results follow a similar pattern: third grade shows roughly one in seven students proficient, declining to less than one in ten by fifth grade. In fifth-grade science, only a tiny fraction of students reached the proficiency mark. Compared with other districts across St. Louis County, the school’s combined proficiency index sits in the bottom quarter. Parents should note that these are among the lowest achievement levels in the county.
Because Lemasters is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism or discipline. The district itself has a fraught recent history. Riverview Gardens was previously unaccredited, a status that in Missouri allows students to transfer to accredited neighboring districts at district expense. In 2020 the state granted it provisional accreditation, a step that signals improvement but leaves the district under state monitoring. A parent moving into the area may want to ask the district directly about current accreditation status and how it affects school operations, funding, and transfer options.
The school offers no special program pathways visible in the available data, and there is no information on staffing ratios, course offerings beyond the basic curriculum, or before- and after-school programs. The community context is urban and economically stressed, but the city of St. Louis itself provides substantial cultural and civic resources, including Forest Park, the zoo, and the art and science museums, all of which are within a moderate drive.
Lemasters Elementary serves a high-poverty, predominantly Black student population in a district that is recovering from a loss of accreditation. Its state test scores are well below county averages, and its academic challenges are substantial. For a family weighing school options in north St. Louis County, this school is best understood as a neighborhood elementary in a district still rebuilding its standing. A parent concerned with academic outcomes may want to investigate the district’s improvement plans, the availability of tutoring or intervention programs, and the school’s specific approach to early literacy and math instruction before enrolling.
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