The reported proficiency rate for English language arts is 11%.
Original Research by School Decision on Ashland Elem. and Br.
Ashland Elementary and Branch is a regular public school in St. Louis City serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It sits within the St. Louis City school district, a system that covers the entire independent city. The school’s location is in the northern part of the city, near the intersection of North Newstead and East Adams.
The student body is small and notably homogeneous in racial and ethnic composition. Nearly every enrolled student is Black, and the remaining students are a mix of Hispanic, white, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and students of two or more races. Every student at the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch.
The school serves a community that is economically modest. Housing values in the immediate zip code are well below the state average. Rents are also below the St. Louis region’s typical level, and the area has seen a recent drop in home values. For families considering a move, the school’s attendance zone sits in a part of the city where the cost of entry is low, but so is the rate of price appreciation.
State testing data from the Missouri Assessment Program provides a limited picture. For the most recent testing year, math and science results for tested grades were suppressed, meaning the counts were too small for the state to release them publicly. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.
English language arts results were available and show a significant challenge. In third grade and fifth grade, the share of students scoring proficient or advanced was in the single digits. In fourth grade, the rate was higher but still low. Parents should examine these numbers closely with the school to understand the academic supports in place. A comparison across all St. Louis city districts places the school’s overall proficiency index in the bottom quartile.
No recent parent-relevant changes to the district were publicly available in a form that met the standard for inclusion, so this account does not speculate about upcoming shifts. The school’s website may offer details on curriculum, after-school programming, and family engagement that are not captured here.
For a family considering Ashland, the central facts are these. The school is small, economically stressed, and serves a nearly all-Black student body in a low-cost part of the city. State test results, where they are reportable, point to very low academic proficiency in reading. Math and science data are too sparse to characterize. The district comparison is unfavorable. A parent weighing this school would want a direct conversation with its leaders about how the school responds to these academic signals, what interventions are in place, and what trajectories their own child’s cohort has shown over time.
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