Richfield Springs Elementary School, Richfield Springs NY

Original Research by School Decision on Richfield Springs Elementary School

Richfield Springs Elementary School serves early grades through sixth, making it part of the Richfield Springs Central School District's single-campus PK-12 facility located at the center of the village of Richfield Springs, a historic town in Otsego County that once thrived as a mineral-spring resort. The school enrolls a modest population, with the student body predominantly white, and about half the students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting the mixed economic circumstances of the rural community.

State testing data shows proficiency in math and English language arts varying substantially by grade. In fourth grade, students showed stronger results in reading and writing than in math; in other grades, proficiency rates across both subjects cluster in the range where about half to slightly more than half of tested students met state proficiency benchmarks. Mathematics proficiency in third grade, fifth grade, and sixth grade fell somewhat below the midpoint, while fourth-grade math and sixth-grade reading performed comparatively better. In fifth-grade science, proficiency fell below that pattern. When measured against other elementary schools across the county's districts, this school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile, a distinction driven by the variability in its grade-level results and the baseline performance of some peer schools in the county.

Families should understand that proficiency varies substantially across grades and subjects here; a parent enrolling a child in third or fifth grade might want to look into what the school identifies as contributing factors and what instruction the school is emphasizing in those cohorts. The participation rate in state assessments was complete, meaning the data reflects the full tested population.

The school occupies a central location in the village and benefits from a compact, walkable downtown environment where Main Street holds the school building, public library, and Spring Park within or very near one another. The wider community has experienced decades of population loss from its 19th-century peak but is now pursuing downtown revitalization through the state's NY Forward program, with projects underway to rehabilitate historic buildings and improve streets and public spaces. Voters in the district approved a multi-year capital project in December 2023 to upgrade aging school facilities, including roof replacement, window upgrades, and cement work. The 2026-27 operating budget was approved by voters in May 2026, setting the property tax level families would factor into their housing decisions.

Housing in the village is predominantly older, much of it built before World War II, with the median home value sitting below the state benchmark and substantially below the national median. The local economy is anchored by health care and education, with the school district itself among the significant employers. The village sits on U.S. Route 20 with no public transit system for commuting; residents rely on private vehicle transportation. Canadarago Lake about a mile south offers recreational access including public swimming and boat launches.

The elementary school serves as the younger-grades anchor of the district, with sixth grade marking the transition within the same PK-12 building before students move into middle and high school instruction within that same facility. The setting is distinctly rural and small, embedded in a community actively engaged in adaptive reuse of its historic buildings and downtown revival rather than sprawl.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 41% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 60% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 42%

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

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 52% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 53% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 479%

School 79% · District 76% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 45%

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

Grade 647%

School 47% · District 45% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 34%

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

Social studies

Grade 585%

School 85% · district not reported

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 876%

School 76% · district not reported

▼ 2 pts below state median

This schoolRICHFIELD SPRINGS CENTRAL 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-income55%Higher-income54%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income83%Higher-income75%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income60%21 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income47%Higher-income46%2 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income22%Higher-income55%32 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income29%Higher-income56%27 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income25%Higher-income69%44 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income58%Higher-income67%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income43%Higher-income40%3 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income63%Higher-income36%27 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income6%Higher-income46%39 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income25%Higher-income13%12 pp gap