The top reported proficiency rate is 15% in English language arts. The lowest is 9% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Moline Elem.
Moline Elementary serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in the Riverview Gardens School District, located within the city of St. Louis. The school is situated in a corner of St. Louis County, and draws its community from the northern part of the St. Louis area. St. Louis itself is an independent city with a diverse economy rooted in service, manufacturing, trade, transportation, and aviation industries, and it hosts major employers including the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the Washington University Medical Center, which includes Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The city is also home to prominent research universities and civic anchors such as the Gateway Arch, Forest Park, and the Saint Louis Zoo.
Moline Elementary enrolls a student body that is overwhelmingly composed of students who identify as Black, with very small representations of Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, and White students. Every single student at the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a fact that speaks directly to the economic circumstances of the families the school serves. The Riverview Gardens district itself has a notable recent history: it was previously unaccredited by the state but received provisional accreditation in 2020. This is a meaningful context for families, because in Missouri, an unaccredited district must pay for students to transfer to accredited neighboring districts, and the accreditation status of a district can influence both home values and parents’ choices about where to enroll their children. The provisional status suggests the district is under state oversight as it works toward full accreditation.
On the Missouri Assessment Program, Moline Elementary’s state testing results across the third, fourth, and fifth grades show that proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science are all well below the midpoint of what districts in St. Louis County report. When compared directly with other districts in the county, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. In math, the percentage of students scoring at the proficient or advanced level was in the single digits or low teens depending on the grade, while in English language arts, the share was in the mid-teens. In fifth-grade science, the proficiency rate was also in the single digits. These are consistent patterns across tested subjects and grade levels. Because the school serves only kindergarten through fifth grade, state testing data for middle or high school grades does not apply here, and there is no graduation rate to report.
The housing market in the surrounding area reflects a modestly priced market relative to national benchmarks. Home values in the ZIP code are well below the median for St. Louis County, and rents are similarly lower than the county median. The county’s median listing price has seen a slight decline year over year, while the number of active listings has increased modestly, suggesting a market with more options for buyers than in some prior periods. The national economic context shows a 30-year fixed mortgage rate that has been fluctuating in the mid-six percent range, which is a relevant factor for families considering a home purchase in this area.
For a parent or resident evaluating Moline Elementary, the picture is straightforward. This is a school where nearly every student comes from a low-income household, and where academic proficiency on state assessments is substantially below the typical range for St. Louis County districts. The Riverview Gardens district, meanwhile, carries the weight of a recent provisional accreditation, which has real implications for the community. A family looking at this school would want to investigate further with the school itself about what supports are in place for students who are behind grade level, what programs or interventions the school offers, and how the provisional accreditation of the district shapes the day-to-day experience for students and families. The school’s strengths are not captured by the data available here; those would need to be explored through direct conversation with the principal, teachers, and other parents in the community.
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