The top reported proficiency rate is 96% in Social studies. The lowest is 28% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Marion G Vedder Elementary School
Marion G. Vedder Elementary School sits on Deer Park Avenue in North Babylon, a hamlet in the Town of Babylon on Long Island's South Shore. It serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade within the North Babylon Union Free School District. The school's address places it along the same corridor the Town has identified as the civic spine of the community, adjacent to the public library and within walking distance of Phelps Lane Park.
North Babylon itself reads as a working suburban hamlet: modest Cape Cods, ranch homes, and split-levels on quiet residential streets, organized around a car-oriented commercial strip. Belmont Lake State Park draws visitors from well beyond the community, and a pediatric specialty care center anchors local healthcare. The LIRR Babylon Station is a short drive away for commuters heading toward the city. The Town is actively pursuing corridor revitalization along Deer Park Avenue, including new mixed-use residential development and ongoing sidewalk improvements, though the hamlet does not yet have a traditional walkable downtown.
Housing costs here run well above both the state and national midpoints. The local zip code reflects home values and rents that place buyers and renters in a competitive, relatively expensive Long Island market. The county market broadly shows rising list prices year over year, though pending sales have pulled back, suggesting some softening in pace. The district's budget and tax levy have risen steadily over recent years, a practical cost consideration for anyone purchasing in the attendance zone.
Vedder's enrollment is sizable for an elementary school serving pre-K through fifth grade, with a notably large pre-kindergarten cohort that makes up a disproportionate share of the total headcount. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse: Hispanic students make up the largest share, followed by white, Black, and Asian students, with multiracial students also represented. Close to half of all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a substantial economically mixed population. Data on English learner rates and students with IEPs was not available in the provided information.
On New York State assessments, the picture is mixed and worth examining carefully. Third-grade proficiency in math comes in around the majority mark, and ELA sits just above half, both reasonable starting points. By fourth grade the numbers hold at roughly similar levels in ELA and dip somewhat in math. Fifth grade is where the data becomes more of a flag: both ELA and math proficiency drop considerably, and science proficiency in fifth grade lands at a similar lower range. Placed among districts in Suffolk County, Vedder's overall proficiency index sits just above the midpoint of the county cohort, meaning it performs somewhat better than roughly half the districts in that comparison set but well below the upper range. Parents who want to understand what is driving the fifth-grade dip, and what supports are in place to address it, would do well to ask the school directly. Participation rates in fifth grade testing were also lower than in earlier grades, which can affect how proficiency figures are interpreted.
No trend data across multiple years was available, so it is not possible from this data to say whether results are improving, stable, or declining. Civil rights outcome data, chronic absenteeism rates, and discipline data were not included in the available information.
A few district-level developments are relevant to families at Vedder who are thinking about the full K-12 pathway in North Babylon. At the high school level, the district moved to a nine-period day starting in the 2024-25 school year, publicly reported as a structural change intended to expand elective access, career pathways, and advanced study options. For families considering this district for the long term, that is a meaningful addition to the upper grades. Across all schools, the district adopted a bell-to-bell ban on internet-connected personal devices beginning in the 2025-26 school year, in line with New York State's requirement.
Vedder is a neighborhood elementary school in a diverse, family-oriented community, drawing from a population that spans a wide economic range. The academic results are adequate in the early grades and soften in the upper elementary years, which a parent should factor in and probe further with the school.
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