Kensico School, Valhalla NY - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Kensico School

Kensico School is a regular public elementary school in Valhalla serving grades three through five, part of the Valhalla Union Free School District. The school enrolls a population of about a third of the typical suburban district cohort, with roughly equal numbers across each grade. The student body is diverse: about half white, a third Hispanic, and smaller shares of Asian and Black students. About a fifth of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

On the most recent state assessments, the school shows uneven performance across grades. Fourth grade is the clearest bright spot, with about three-quarters of students meeting proficiency in both math and English language arts. By contrast, third and fifth grades run below the midpoint in both subjects. Third graders showed proficiency rates near the five-and-a-half in ten mark in math and English, while fifth graders reached about three-fifths in English but fell to just over half in both math and science. Science results across the school skew lower, with about half of fifth graders proficient. Performance on these tests places the school above the midpoint among Westchester County districts overall, suggesting a context somewhere in the middle of the county landscape rather than at a disadvantage, though the grade-level variation signals some students progress faster than others through the elementary span.

Participation rates in testing were strong across the school, suggesting solid attendance and compliance rather than gaps from exclusion or absence. No data on specialized populations, such as students with individualized education plans or English learners, is available in the publicly reported record, so a parent may want to look into what support services and programs the school offers directly with the school. The school's grade configuration means there is no graduation data, secondary coursework, or athletics to consider; Kensico feeds into the middle and high schools within the same district.

Valhalla as a place is a small institutional and residential hamlet within Mount Pleasant, anchored by Westchester Medical Center and New York Medical College on one side and a modest downtown around the Metro-North station on the other. The housing stock consists overwhelmingly of owner-occupied single-family homes, many built in midcentury styles. The median home value in the zipcode is substantial, reflecting a Westchester County market with strong property costs, though single-family owner-occupied housing remains the norm rather than rental apartments. Walkability is concentrated in a tight downtown core; beyond that, the area is car-dependent. A major biotech and research development on county land near the medical complex is in early stages and may bring both traffic and long-term economic activity to the area over the coming years.

The school sits within the Valhalla Union Free School District, which recently passed a substantial capital bond referendum in late 2023 to fund building and site improvements across its four schools, financed through property tax debt repayment. The district is also in early planning for another capital improvement project, signaling that additional facilities investment and associated tax discussions may follow. For families considering a move to the area, this represents a commitment to physical infrastructure alongside the ongoing tax structure of a suburban district in Westchester County.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 58%

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

Grade 474%

School 74% · District 73% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 57%

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

English language arts

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 5 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 474%

School 74% · District 73% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 65% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 52%

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

Social studies

Grade 597%

School 97% · district not reported

▲ 5 pts above state median · even with county median

This schoolVALHALLA 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-income38%Higher-income61%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income65%Higher-income76%11 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income31%Higher-income75%44 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income38%Higher-income62%24 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income55%Higher-income78%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income31%Higher-income65%34 pp gap