The top reported proficiency rate is 15% in English language arts. The lowest is 5% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Humboldt Acad of Higher Lrning
Humboldt Academy of Higher Learning is a regular public elementary school in St. Louis, serving grades three through five. It sits within the St. Louis City school district, a large urban system. The school itself is small, with an enrollment that is notably modest for a grade band spanning three years.
The student body is predominantly Black, with a small share of white students and a very small number of Asian, Hispanic, and multiracial students. Every student at the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the economic circumstances of the families the school serves. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available, which is a gap a parent may want to explore directly with the school.
St. Louis is an independent city with a diverse economy anchored by major employers such as the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, as well as several research universities. The city’s civic and cultural anchors include the Gateway Arch, Forest Park, the Saint Louis Zoo, and a number of museums and gardens. The school is located in the city’s dense urban fabric. Publicly reported information about recent district-level changes that would directly affect families was limited, so this narrative relies on the school-specific data available.
State testing results for the 2024-25 school year show that across math, English language arts, and science, the share of students scoring at the proficient level is very low. In mathematics, the reported proficiency rate is in the single digits for third grade and below three percent for fifth grade; fourth grade math results were suppressed. In English language arts, the proficiency rate is about one in five students in third and fifth grades, but falls to the low single digits in fourth grade. In fifth grade science, the rate is also very low. A single-year multi-year trend was available for overall English language arts, showing a proficiency rate of about six percent, but without prior years for comparison no trend can be assessed. These results place the school’s overall proficiency index in the bottom quarter when compared with other districts in St. Louis city. A parent considering this school should look into these results further with the school and understand what supports are in place for students.
Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Chronic absenteeism data were also not available. No information was provided on course access, staffing ratios, or specific program offerings, so this account cannot speak to the range of academic or enrichment opportunities available.
Humboldt Academy of Higher Learning is a small, urban elementary school serving a predominantly low-income student population in the city of St. Louis. Its academic performance as measured by state assessments is weak relative to other schools in the district and across the city. For families seeking a school where the majority of students are meeting grade-level benchmarks, this school is unlikely to fit that expectation. For families who are weighing other factors or want to understand the specific interventions and instruction the school provides, a direct visit and conversation with the principal would be the next step. The school’s name emphasizes higher learning, but the available evidence does not show high academic outcomes on state tests. A parent should use the school’s website and direct contact to fill in the many gaps left by the data available here.
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