The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in Science. The lowest is 18% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Roosevelt El Sch
Roosevelt Elementary serves prekindergarten through fifth grade in Allentown, a dense urban neighborhood with a largely Hispanic and economically disadvantaged student population. Every student in the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, and roughly seven in ten are Hispanic. The school enrolled roughly a small-to-midsized student body distributed fairly evenly across its grade band, with slightly higher enrollment in the lower grades.
Academic performance at Roosevelt is notably below state and county benchmarks. In the most recent state testing data available, the school's proficiency in English language arts stood at a very low rate—about one in five students achieved proficiency. Math proficiency was slightly higher but still below one in four. Science results from the prior year were stronger at roughly a third of students proficient, though the science assessment reached a smaller subset of the grade band. Compared to other districts in Lehigh County, Roosevelt's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile, a meaningful gap from the county median. The school's performance reflects the broader pattern found in urban elementary schools serving highly economically disadvantaged and largely English-learning populations: early literacy and numeracy work begins further behind, and gains by upper elementary grades remain modest.
Allentown City School District has placed explicit emphasis on third-grade literacy as a district priority through its recently adopted long-range strategic plan, and the district opened a new theme-based science elementary school in fall 2024, though Roosevelt itself is a traditional neighborhood elementary. The district also received a substantial increase in state funding tied to Pennsylvania's post-lawsuit education adequacy formula, which has allowed it to avoid property tax increases for three years running and to fund new literacy initiatives and capital projects. For 2026-27, the district proposed its first tax increase in that period.
Roosevelt sits in the city of Allentown proper, in a neighborhood setting within walking distance of densely developed commercial and residential blocks. The neighborhood has adequate public transit via LANta bus service and connects to the broader city's downtown revitalization around the Hamilton District. Housing values in the immediate Allentown zip code are moderate, and rental rates are accessible relative to regional benchmarks, reflecting the urban, mixed-income character of the area. A parent moving into this neighborhood should expect to support a student entering a school with limited proficiency and consider whether the school's instructional environment and current academic trajectory align with the level of intervention and support the family can provide.
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