The top reported proficiency rate is 14% in Science. The lowest is 7% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Laclede Elem.
Laclede Elementary is a regular public school in the St. Louis Public Schools district, serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is not a charter or magnet school. The school is located in the western part of the city, in a residential ZIP code where home values are relatively modest compared to national averages, with rents that have been rising gradually. St. Louis itself is a major Midwestern city with a diverse economy and strong civic and cultural anchors such as Forest Park and the Gateway Arch, but the school’s immediate neighborhood context is not detailed in available data.
The school is small for a PK–8 building. Every student is Black, and every one of them qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which makes this a very high-poverty school. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available; a family may want to ask the school directly about supports in those areas.
State testing results paint a stark picture, though much of the data is suppressed because the number of students tested in each grade is small, making it difficult to calculate or report reliable proficiency rates. The state suppressed proficiency results for all but a few grade–subject combinations. For the grades where results were reported, the share of students scoring proficient or advanced was in the single digits or low teens. In eighth-grade math, a very small share reached proficiency. In fifth- and seventh-grade English language arts, the share was similarly low. Eighth-grade science, likewise, had a low proficiency rate. Because of the suppression, it is hard to get a complete academic view, but the available numbers place the school in the bottom quarter of schools when compared to others in St. Louis city using an overall proficiency index. The index is an average of all reported rates, and Laclede’s index falls below the median and the minimum of the cohort, meaning its performance is among the lowest in the city. No graduation rate is reported because the school’s highest grade is eighth.
Chronic absenteeism and discipline data were not available. No information on course access, advanced offerings, or special programs was provided. The district brief turned up no recent structural or policy changes that would be relevant to a parent.
What this means for a family considering Laclede is straightforward. This is a small neighborhood school serving a student body that is uniformly low-income and Black. Academic performance on state assessments is very low, and the school ranks among the weakest in a city where many schools also struggle. A parent looking at Laclede will want to investigate further what supports are in place for literacy and math, what enrichment or intervention programs exist, and what the school environment is like day to day. The test results alone do not tell the full story of a school’s climate or the commitment of its staff, but they do indicate that students here face significant academic challenges. Families considering this school should visit, talk to the principal and teachers, and ask about how the school is working to raise achievement. The broader St. Louis district has many schools with different programs and approaches, so it is worth seeing how Laclede fits with a child’s specific needs.
See more original research from School Decision →