Castleton Elementary School, Castleton NY

Original Research by School Decision on Castleton Elementary School

Castleton Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Castleton-on-Hudson, a small village in Rensselaer County. The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly white. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school is part of Schodack Central School District, which in 2022 completed a voter-approved capital improvement project that upgraded classroom and STEM technology, building security, and facilities across the district without raising tax burdens. The district has maintained modest, cap-compliant annual property tax increases in recent years.

Castleton Elementary's math performance shows strength in the upper grades. In sixth grade, roughly three-quarters of tested students meet proficiency. Fifth and sixth grade both show solid performance, with roughly two-thirds to three-quarters proficient. Third and fourth grade proficiency is more mixed, closer to half and three-fifths proficient respectively. The school's English language arts results show a different pattern. Third grade performs just below half, fourth grade notably lower at roughly two-fifths proficient. Performance climbs sharply in the upper grades, with fifth grade near seven-tenths and sixth grade roughly four-fifths proficient. Science testing, which occurs in fifth grade, shows roughly seven-tenths of students meeting proficiency. Across subjects, student participation in state assessments is consistently high, above nine in ten.

When compared against other districts in Rensselaer County, Castleton Elementary's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among the county's elementary schools.

The school building is located on Scott Avenue in the village, which sits along the Hudson River and maintains close ties to regional services. Castleton-on-Hudson has pursued downtown revitalization through the state's NY Forward program, seeking funding for Main Street projects. The village is served by public transit connecting to Albany and Rensselaer, and families have access to waterfront parks and Schodack Island State Park nearby. Housing values in the area are moderate for the region, and rental costs are moderate relative to local incomes. Median household income in the broader area stands above the national average.

The school's enrollment is stable and balanced across grades. Grade-level cohorts range from about fifty to seventy students, giving the school an overall enrollment that keeps class sizes manageable within the elementary context. Data on the number and share of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not available, so a reader may want to ask the school directly about the scope of those support populations.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 356%

School 56% · District 56%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 462%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 65%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 673%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 349%

School 49% · District 49%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 42%

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

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 70%

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

Grade 683%

School 83% · District 83%

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

Science

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

This schoolSCHODACK 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-income22%Higher-income59%37 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income46%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income63%Higher-income73%10 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income71%Higher-income86%15 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income44%Higher-income60%15 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income53%Higher-income66%13 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income73%33 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income80%30 pp gap