School 5, Dunkirk NY - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on School 5

School 5 is an early-elementary school in Dunkirk serving kindergarten through second grade. It enrolls a small student population, most of whom live in families with income low enough to qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller shares of white students and other backgrounds.

The school's recent state test data, from 2021-22, shows mixed results across subjects. In math, proficiency rates ranged from roughly the high thirties to low forties across grades three through five. English language arts proficiency was lower, with grades three and five each showing proficiency rates below the midpoint, though grade four stood a bit higher. Science proficiency in grade four was notably stronger, suggesting the school has instructional strength in that area. The school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint relative to other districts in Chautauqua County.

Because School 5 serves only grades K-2, there are no state test results for those grades; New York does not assess students that young. The test data shown comes from students who have moved through the school's pathway into higher grades.

Dunkirk itself is a small Lake Erie city with a downtown grid and waterfront parks. The housing market is relatively affordable, and the city is in the midst of state-backed downtown revitalization efforts centered on converting historic buildings into apartments and mixed-income residential space. The district spans the city and surrounding areas and has recently invested in facility improvements, including an air conditioning upgrade to all classrooms and a substantial addition to its junior and senior high school. The district explicitly serves a heavily multilingual student population and offers both English as a New Language and dual language bilingual education programs.

For families considering this school, the key questions center on early childhood instructional focus, since state testing begins later. The school's enrollment is small enough that individual classroom composition and staffing will matter more than district-level patterns. A parent may want to look into the school's literacy and numeracy programs in the early grades, teacher experience with multilingual learners, and any supplemental support the school offers to families. The school's future trajectory depends partly on how effectively the broader district executes its recent curriculum expansions in STEM and career pathways, and whether the facility improvements ease classroom conditions. Housing in the area is becoming more available and affordable as the city's downtown redevelopment unfolds, which may shape the neighborhood character families experience.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 40% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 40% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 37% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 29% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 26% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 38% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Science

Grade 471%

School 71% · district not reported

▼ 15 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 571%

School 71% · district not reported

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

This schoolDUNKIRK 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-income8%Higher-income60%52 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income30%Higher-income60%30 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income18%Higher-income20%2 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income36%Higher-income60%24 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income67%41 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income40%13 pp gap