Summary:
Berkeley Elementary School is a public elementary school serving grades 3-5 in the Ferguson-Florissant R-II school district in Berkeley, Missouri. The school has a student population of 346 as of the 2022-2023 school year, with a predominantly African American student body at 84.1%.
Berkeley Elementary consistently underperforms compared to the district and state averages on standardized tests, with only 9.2% of 3rd graders, 14.1% of 4th graders, and 7.8% of 5th graders proficient or better in Mathematics, significantly lower than the Ferguson-Florissant R-II district and the state of Missouri. The school's performance in English Language Arts is also well below the district and state levels. This low academic performance is coupled with an extremely high percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 99.13% to 99.29% over the past three school years, indicating that the student population comes from predominantly low-income households. As a result, Berkeley Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-15% of Missouri elementary schools based on the SchoolDigger statewide ranking, with a 0-star rating out of 5 in recent years.
Interestingly, the nearby elementary schools within the Ferguson-Florissant R-II district, such as Central, Duchesne, and Robinwood, exhibit similar patterns of low academic performance, high percentages of free/reduced-price lunch recipients, and low statewide rankings, suggesting that the challenges faced by Berkeley Elementary are systemic within the district. Despite the school's higher spending per student compared to nearby schools, this increased funding has not translated into improved academic outcomes, indicating that other factors, such as curriculum, instructional methods, or student support, may be contributing to the challenges.
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