Fort Edward School, Fort Edward NY

Original Research by School Decision on Fort Edward School

Fort Edward School is a small, rural K-12 school serving a community in transition. The school sits in a historic Hudson River village that was economically built on manufacturing—clothing mills, paper plants, and most recently a major General Electric capacitor facility that closed in the early 2010s. The village is now in a slow post-industrial evolution, with civic life anchored around the historic downtown and riverfront, though the broader economic landscape remains unsettled.

The school enrolls a student population that is roughly three-quarters white, with smaller shares of students of color and emerging diversity, reflecting the demographics of the rural region. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating significant economic need in the families the school serves. The school operates as a single K-12 building and serves a relatively small enrollment spread across all grade levels from pre-K through 12, which means families encounter a more intimate environment but fewer specialized program pathways and course options than larger schools.

Academic proficiency levels across tested grades and subjects are low. In elementary math (grades 3-5), proficiency ranges from roughly two-fifths to three-fifths of students meeting state standards. English language arts shows similar or slightly lower results, with fewer than half of third-through-fifth graders reaching proficiency. Middle grades math drops significantly in grade 6 to roughly a third proficient, then dips further at grade 8 to well below a fifth. English language arts at grade 8 shows only around one-eighth of students meeting proficiency. Science results are mixed: grade 5 shows under a third proficient, but grade 8 science is notably stronger at around three-fifths proficient. Across the county's school districts, Fort Edward's overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint, positioning the school among the lower-performing districts in Washington County.

Test participation rates also signal a concern worth examining with the school directly. At the middle grades especially—grade 6 through grade 8—participation dips substantially below what state guidelines would expect. In grade 8, roughly one-third to one-half of enrolled students appear in the testing data for any given subject. A parent may want to look into whether absences, opt-outs, or other factors are contributing to these participation gaps and what that means for student engagement and accountability on assessments.

The housing market in the area is affordable relative to statewide and national benchmarks. Home values sit below state average, and the monthly cost of mortgage obligations is modest, making this a place where housing cost is less likely to be a barrier. Much of the village stock is older, pre-World War II construction, giving the community a historic small-town character rather than a growing or newly developed one. Owner-occupied housing is the norm, though there is rental stock as well.

A significant layer of uncertainty shapes the long-term reality for families considering this school: the district has been locked in a recurring effort to dissolve itself and be annexed into the neighboring South Glens Falls Central School District. The Fort Edward board rejected such a merger at a close vote in 2021-2022, preventing it from reaching a public referendum at that time. The question was revived in 2024-2025 with a new consultant study completed, which estimated substantial state incentive aid and building aid available if the districts merged. Whether the current board will move the question to voters, and if so, how voters will decide, remains unresolved. Under any proposed merger arrangement, the Fort Edward building would continue operating as an elementary school for at least a specified period, but the larger governance, tax base, curriculum, and middle and high school placement would shift. For a family deciding whether to move to the district or enroll a child, this ongoing governance question is real and unfinished.

The school and district data do not include graduation rate, discipline patterns, staff counts, specific course offerings, or extracurricular program breadth. The state assessment results are present and form the clearest window into academic performance; other dimensions of school quality and environment would benefit from direct conversation with the school and district.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

70-79%Cohort of 36 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,253 schools plotted. 14 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

New York Regents Exams

3 courses reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Social Studies	31	74.0%
Science	25	72.0%
Ela	22	77.0%

Math

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 38% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 50% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 756%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 3 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 17%

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 35% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 35% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 41%

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 28%

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 40%

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

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 29%

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

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 29 pts above state median · even with county median

This schoolFORT EDWARD UNION FREE 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-income39%Higher-income30%9 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income44%Higher-income29%16 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income25%Higher-income64%39 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income23%Higher-income40%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income0%Higher-income80%80 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income22%Higher-income70%48 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income43%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income38%Higher-income91%53 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income60%40 pp gap