Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Discovery STEM Academy
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Virginia public elementary schools
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 9 | 2% |
| Kindergarten | 84 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 100 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 99 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 107 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 82 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 80 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (84) is 5% larger than its 5th grade class (80).
Test scores
SOL 2024-25 . % PassingWhat this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 49 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Virginia schools, those numbers are about 74 and 73. Reading and writing scores are down about 2 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 8 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 43.0% | 49.0% |
| 2023-24 | 47.0% | 54.0% |
| 2022-23 | 45.0% | 41.0% |
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyWhat this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 61% typical for Virginia schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Virginia's top nor bottom 10%.
Schools most like Discovery STEM Academy
Discovery STEM Academy's state test result (47.3% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery STEM Academy this school | 561 | 98.9% | 47.3% |
| Jacox Elementary Norfolk | 596 | 99.3% | 32.5% |
| Brighton Elementary Portsmouth | 483 | 99.4% | 41.3% |
| Cool Spring Elementary Petersburg | 540 | 94.3% | 29.9% |
| Walnut Hill Elementary Petersburg | 574 | 93.7% | 36.9% |
| Henry Marsh III Elementary Richmond | 512 | 97.7% | 34.5% |
Where Discovery STEM Academy ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Newport News city |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 47.3% | #1,011 of 1,101 | #20 of 24 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.0% | #1,035 of 1,111 ▼ 105 | #21 of 24 ▼ 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.0% | #1,065 of 1,111 ▼ 30 | #23 of 24 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 561 | #442 of 1,176 | #4 of 27 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.5:1 | #1,046 of 1,105 | #11 of 27 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 32.3% | #970 of 1,106 | #25 of 27 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.9% | #190 of 1,157 | #23 of 27 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +10.4% | #120 of 324 | N/A |
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 561 | 32 | 17.5:1 | 99% (555) |
| 2023-24 | 550 | 32.2 | 17.1:1 | 97% (535) |
| 2022-23 | 543 | 37.5 | 14.5:1 | 91% (492) |
| 2020-21 | 580 | 38 | 15.3:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 508 | 33 | 15.4:1 | 83% (424) |
| 2015-16 | 362 | 27 | 13.4:1 | 99% (357) |
| 2010-11 | 306 | 25 | 12.2:1 | 78% (239) |
| 2000-01 | 696 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 524 | 28 | 18.7:1 | N/A |
Since 2017-18: students up 10% (508 to 561); teachers down 3% (33 to 32).
About Discovery STEM Academy
In Newport News, Virginia, Discovery STEM Academy is a medium-sized elementary school. It serves 561 students in pre-K through 5.
A total of 40 schools make up Newport News City Public Schools, with 25,882 students enrolled.
Black students are the large majority at Discovery STEM Academy, with 81% of enrollment. Next come 9% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, and 2% White. That compares with about 41% Black among all Newport News city residents. The chance that two students picked at random at Discovery STEM Academy belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 32%.
The school employs the equivalent of 32 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 17.5:1. Among elementary schools in Virginia, the typical ratio is 13.8:1. The free or reduced-price lunch share, often used to gauge student poverty, is 99%. Across public schools in Newport News city, the average is about the same, 98%.
Measured against Virginia public elementary schools, Discovery STEM Academy receives a D. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Discovery STEM Academy is 13.9 points below the average proficiency rate on state tests predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 47.3% actual, 61.2% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Virginia.
Discovery STEM Academy is located in Newport News city, where median household income is about $69,634, about 31% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 11% of residents are in poverty. Discovery STEM Academy is one of 48 public schools in Newport News city, which together enroll about 25,882 students.
The closest public school to Discovery STEM Academy is Achievable Dream Academy, about 0.7 miles away. Within five miles of Discovery STEM Academy, there are at least 8 other public schools. Its average proficiency rate of 47.3% is below the 57.7% average for nearby schools.
In the federal locale system, Discovery STEM Academy is coded City: Mid-size, for schools inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Federal counts put enrollment at 580 in 2020-21 and 561 in 2024-25, a 3% decrease. The student-to-teacher ratio went up from 15.3:1 to 17.5:1.
The Discovery STEM Academy community page is open for posts about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Newport News city at a glance
View full county profileQuick facts
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