Summary:
The 16601 zip code area of Altoona, Pennsylvania is home to 4 elementary schools that are part of the Altoona Area School District. While the district as a whole is ranked 336 out of 610 in the state, one school in particular, Irving Elementary School, stands out as a top performer, significantly outpacing the district and state averages on standardized test scores.
Irving Elementary, a public magnet school serving grades K-5, ranks 363 out of 1,526 Pennsylvania elementary schools and earns a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. In the 2023-2024 school year, 67.2% of Irving students were proficient or better in Math, compared to just 40.4% for the district and state. The school also has the lowest percentage of free/reduced lunch recipients at 46.43%, indicating a relatively higher socioeconomic status compared to the other schools in the area. In contrast, the other three elementary schools - Juniata Gap Elementary, Juniata Elementary, and Mowrie A Ebner Elementary - struggle to meet state and district averages on standardized tests.
The data suggests that socioeconomic factors and funding disparities may play a significant role in the performance gaps between the schools. The schools with higher free/reduced lunch rates tend to have lower academic achievement, and the spending per student varies considerably, from $12,629 at Juniata Gap Elementary to $15,518 at Irving Elementary. These findings highlight the need for equitable resource allocation and targeted interventions to support the lower-performing schools in the 16601 zip code area.
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