Arbor Hill Elementary School, Albany NY

Original Research by School Decision on Arbor Hill Elementary School

Arbor Hill Elementary School is a small neighborhood elementary serving pre-K through grade five in Albany's Arbor Hill neighborhood. The school enrolls a diverse student body that reflects the city's character: just over half the enrollment is Black, with a quarter Hispanic and smaller shares of Asian, white, and multiracial students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The neighborhood is part of Albany's historic residential landscape, near the city's downtown and state government core, with modest rents and proximity to walkable commercial areas.

The school's recent state test results reveal significant academic headwinds. In mathematics across grades three, four, and five, proficiency rates cluster below the midpoint that the field generally expects: grade three shows proficiency around one-third, grade four falls to roughly one-sixth, and grade five recovers to just over one-third. English language arts results are similarly soft, with grade three proficiency under one-fifth and grade four around one-fifth, though grade five reaches one-third. A science test in grade five shows proficiency at one-fifth. When these results are viewed together as an overall proficiency index, the school sits in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Albany County, a positioning that matters for a parent evaluating where their child will learn core skills. Across tests, student participation rates run in the high eighties and low nineties, so the data reflects the school population fairly. A parent may want to look into further what instructional supports and intervention systems the school has in place to shore up these metrics, and what the school's own view is of where progress is being made.

The school is in an Albany that is actively revitizing. The district has held tax-levy growth very tight over recent years and approved a substantial capital facilities project focused on school safety and building infrastructure. More immediately, the district expanded elementary busing eligibility beginning the 2026-27 school year, lowering the distance threshold to one mile, which opens transportation access for families who might otherwise be homebound. The city itself is in early stages of downtown housing growth driven by state investment and conversion of historic buildings into apartments.

The school serves an economically stretched community: the rent for the zip code runs in the low-to-mid range for the region, and housing remains affordable relative to national benchmarks, though rent-to-income ratios indicate meaningful cost burden. Families considering Arbor Hill need to reckon with the school's current academic performance against its enrollments and the district's efforts to strengthen instruction. The school remains open and serving its neighborhood.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 44% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 416%

School 16% · District 38% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 51 pts below county median

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 38% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 42% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 43 pts below county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 42% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 46% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Science

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 33% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 590%

School 90% · district not reported

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

This schoolALBANY CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income16%Higher-income20%4 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income20%Higher-income17%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income60%31 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income6%Higher-income25%19 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income32%Higher-income17%16 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income16%Higher-income17%1 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income60%27 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income0%Higher-income13%13 pp gap