The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in Math. The lowest is 17% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Santa Fe South Penn Es
Santa Fe South Penn ES is a charter elementary school in the Santa Fe South Charter Schools network, located in south Oklahoma City. It serves grades two through five, a relatively narrow band that means students arrive having completed kindergarten and first grade elsewhere and will move to a different campus for middle school. The school’s enrollment is small for its grade range, and the student body is almost entirely Hispanic. The area around the school is part of a sprawling, car-dependent city where residential streets and strip development dominate outside the downtown core.
State testing results from the 2024–25 school year provide a detailed picture of academic performance. In mathematics, the share of students scoring proficient or above was highest in third grade and declined in fourth and fifth grades. English language arts proficiency was lower across all three tested grades, with the largest gap between third grade and the later grades. In fifth-grade science, where the state administers a separate assessment, the proficiency rate was the lowest of any subject and grade. Taken as a whole across tested subjects and grades, the school’s average proficiency index lands in the top quarter of districts within Oklahoma County. That countywide comparison matters: it suggests that while the school’s absolute attainment is moderate, many other schools in the county face even greater challenges. Still, the downward trend from third to fifth grade in both math and reading is something a parent would want to discuss directly with the school to understand what academic supports are in place for older elementary students.
Because Santa Fe South Penn ES ends at fifth grade, there is no graduation rate, and the school’s grade band means state testing only covers grades three through five. No data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing ratios was available. The school’s charter status gives it some operational flexibility, but no details about its instructional model, curriculum choices, or enrichment offerings were found in the available records. A parent looking for specifics on art, music, physical education, or after-school programming would need to contact the school directly.
The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, and while the available data does not include counts of English learners or students receiving special education services, a family considering the school may want to ask about language support and individualized learning plans, given the demographic profile. The school’s ZIP code shows typical home values well below the Oklahoma state median and far below the national median, and rents follow a similar pattern. The broader economic context shows a national median household income that is above the area’s likely level, indicating that the community around the school faces economic pressures. Housing costs in this part of Oklahoma City are relatively low, which can be a factor for families weighing school options against affordability.
The school sits within a vast city that has seen sustained population growth driven by public investment in downtown infrastructure, though that growth has been concentrated in the urban core and outlying suburbs rather than in the immediate neighborhood. The school itself is on a main arterial road in a residential section of the city, a setting that is typical of many Oklahoma City schools.
Santa Fe South Penn ES is a charter elementary that serves a predominantly Hispanic student body in a lower-cost part of Oklahoma City. Its state test results are mixed, with stronger math performance in the early tested grades and weaker reading and science scores overall, yet it stands in the top quarter of Oklahoma County districts when averaged across subjects and grades. A parent should look into how the school addresses the drop-off in proficiency from third to fifth grade, what special programs or supports are available, and how the school’s charter model shapes the daily classroom experience.
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