Waterford-halfmoon Elementary School, Waterford NY

Original Research by School Decision on Waterford-halfmoon Elementary School

Waterford-Halfmoon Elementary School serves the early and middle elementary grades in Waterford, a small community in Saratoga County. The school houses roughly four hundred students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade on a single campus. Just over half the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a working- and middle-income family base with considerable economic diversity. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller populations of Hispanic, Asian, Black, and multiracial students.

State math and English language arts testing data from this school year show proficiency rates that track below the midpoint among Saratoga County districts. In math, third-grade results were the strongest, with roughly three in five students reaching proficiency; fourth, fifth, and sixth grades fell below half. English language arts shows a similar pattern, with third grade at about half proficient and grades four through six ranging from roughly one in three to one in five students proficient. A fifth-grade science assessment produced results comparable to math at that grade. Participation in state testing is notably uneven across grades, ranging from low sixties to low nineties, which a parent may want to look into further with the school.

The district recently adopted a new elementary math curriculum for the 2024-25 school year, alongside a new elementary after-school academic enrichment program. These are substantive instructional changes that families moving into the area should understand as part of how elementary math is now being taught. The district also completed facility upgrades in summer 2024 that added parking, lighting, HVAC improvements, and a new high school gym floor, work that touches the single building housing all grades.

Housing values in the Waterford zip code have appreciated modestly. A family buying would face a purchase price several hundred thousand dollars above the national median. The effective mortgage obligation, under current rates and standard down-payment assumptions, would be roughly two thousand dollars monthly before insurance and tax. That tax burden carries weight here because of a structural shift in the district's finances. A major local manufacturer received a sharp assessment reduction through a tax settlement, which redistributed the school and library tax levy to other homeowners. Combined school and library taxes rose materially for property owners in both Waterford and Halfmoon after the settlement took effect. This is a lasting change to the cost of living in this district that a family should account for independently of school quality.

Overall proficiency across tested grades and subjects at this school sits below the median for its county peer group. The school offers no data on staffing, advanced program access, or special-population service rates. Given that this is an elementary school serving only grades pre-K through six, state testing results and graduation data do not apply. A family considering this school should ask directly about the implementation and early results of the new math curriculum, the participation barriers reflected in variable testing participation rates, and the support services available to students who are struggling with core academics.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 57% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 37% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 40% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 350%

School 50% · District 50%

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

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 38% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 549%

School 49% · District 47% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 33%

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

Science

Grade 549%

School 49% · District 47% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 587%

School 87% · district not reported

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

This schoolWATERFORD-HALFMOON 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-income50%Higher-income50%0 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income47%13 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income26%Higher-income75%49 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income16%Higher-income60%44 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income59%Higher-income57%3 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income42%Higher-income38%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income17%Higher-income69%52 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income10%Higher-income54%44 pp gap