Is Van Rensselaer Elementary School a good school?

Van Rensselaer Elementary School ranks in the bottom 17.2% of New York elementary schools.

How many students attend Van Rensselaer Elementary School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 475 students attended Van Rensselaer Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Van Rensselaer Elementary School?

Students at Van Rensselaer Elementary School are 44% White, 16% Hispanic, 16% Two or more races, 13% Asian, 11% African American.

What schools do graduates of Van Rensselaer Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Van Rensselaer Elementary School usually go on to attend: High : Rensselaer Junior/Senior High School

Van Rensselaer Elementary School

Summary:

Van Rensselaer Elementary School is a public elementary school serving 493 students in grades PK-5 in Rensselaer, NY, which is part of the Rensselaer City School District. The school has consistently performed below the state average on New York State Assessments in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math across grades 3-5, with proficiency rates ranging from 19.7% to 35.14% compared to state averages of 43.68% to 58.03%.

Van Rensselaer Elementary School has ranked in the bottom quartile of New York elementary schools for the past 10 years, maintaining a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's performance is particularly low for certain student subgroups, such as White students and Special Education students, who rank in the bottom quartile of New York elementary schools. Additionally, the school serves a high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 45.94% to 70.18% over the past few years.

When compared to nearby schools, such as Bell Top School in the East Greenbush Central School District, which had proficiency rates in the 60-90% range, Van Rensselaer Elementary School's performance is significantly lower. This consistent low performance suggests that the school has struggled to improve student outcomes over an extended period, and the challenges may be influenced by both student-level socioeconomic factors and broader district-level issues.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

25 Van Rensselaer Dr
Rensselaer, NY 12144-2694

(518) 436-4618

District: Rensselaer City School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
2025^th of 2,445 New York Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $11,909

Students who attend Van Rensselaer Elementary School usually attend:

High:

Rensselaer Junior/Senior High School

Student/teacher ratio: 14.6

Number of students: 475

Racial breakdown:

White:

43.8%

Hispanic:

16.0%

Two or more races:

15.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 60.8%

See top rated New York elementary schools

Compare Van Rensselaer Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Van Rensselaer Elementary School ranks worse than 82.8% of elementary schools in New York. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 21.37. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Student population at Van Rensselaer Elementary School is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (43.8%), Hispanic (16%), two or more races (15.8%). (See more...)

Compare Details 60.8% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Van Rensselaer Elementary School is 14.6. (See more...)

Compare Van Rensselaer Elementary School employs 32.4 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Van Rensselaer Elementary School is $11,909.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Van Rensselaer Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Van Rensselaer Elementary School 2025^th of 2445 New York public elementary schools. (See Van Rensselaer Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Asian students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Rensselaer City School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Rensselaer City School District 777^th of 865 New York school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Van Rensselaer Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Van Rensselaer Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2006	50.58	1335^th	2206	39.5%
2007	41.05	1535^th	2219	30.8%
2008	36.35	1652^nd	2227	25.8%
2009	40.16	1630^th	2257	27.8%
2010	31.14	1726^th	2263	23.7%
2011	35.55	1621^st	2286	29.1%
2012	24.66	1868^th	2320	19.5%
2013	30.08	1714^th	2325	26.3%
2014	31.34	1678^th	2345	28.4%
2015	29.02	1734^th	2352	26.3%
2016	23.29	1909^th	2366	19.3%
2017	15.78	2121^st	2386	11.1%
2018	14.19	2167^th	2395	9.5%
2019	16.58	2097^th	2413	13.1%
2021	15.85	1942^nd	2201	11.8%
2022	23.33	1958^th	2434	19.6%
2023	17.08	2125^th	2439	12.9%
2024	21.37	2025^th	2445	17.2%

See the entire list of New York Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Van Rensselaer Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	21.82	177^th	202	12.4%
2019	18.33	151^st	180	16.1%
2021	39.56	80^th	143	44.1%
2022	37.75	163^rd	289	43.6%
2024	16.03	250^th	279	10.4%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Van Rensselaer Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	44.91	469^th	938	50.0%
2021	40.11	266^th	454	41.4%
2022	47.13	436^th	1027	57.5%
2023	54.59	308^th	1001	69.2%
2024	34.10	747^th	1066	29.9%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Van Rensselaer Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	24.59	1720^th	1941	11.4%
2019	23.98	1623^rd	1859	12.7%
2021	20.94	946^th	1044	9.4%
2022	31.70	1463^rd	2031	28.0%
2023	23.80	1701^st	2016	15.6%
2024	22.93	1849^th	2110	12.4%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Van Rensselaer Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	18.20	1867^th	2045	8.7%
2019	17.58	1856^th	2032	8.7%
2021	18.91	1513^th	1678	9.8%
2022	21.89	1814^th	2099	13.6%
2023	16.46	1869^th	2041	8.4%
2024	20.74	1807^th	2078	13.0%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Van Rensselaer Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	16.08	2106^th	2338	9.9%
2019	19.54	2017^th	2357	14.4%
2021	24.74	1574^th	1955	19.5%
2022	28.43	1808^th	2401	24.7%
2023	19.34	2064^th	2403	14.1%
2024	23.62	1941^st	2413	19.6%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Van Rensselaer Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	15.79	2114^th	2340	9.7%
2019	16.26	2091^st	2358	11.3%
2021	9.83	1853^rd	1961	5.5%
2022	21.05	2026^th	2400	15.6%
2023	16.99	2117^th	2400	11.8%
2024	22.46	1988^th	2411	17.5%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Van Rensselaer Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	13.18	549^th	601	8.7%
2019	14.24	506^th	548	7.7%
2021	5.25	409^th	430	4.9%
2022	17.88	590^th	671	12.1%
2023	26.10	493^rd	605	18.5%
2024	29.63	507^th	662	23.4%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Van Rensselaer Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	24.36	780^th	948	17.7%
2019	21.02	763^rd	891	14.4%
2021	20.82	351^st	427	17.8%
2022	24.71	744^th	936	20.5%
2023	29.29	614^th	857	28.4%
2024	28.96	676^th	927	27.1%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Van Rensselaer Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	27.87	1085^th	1392	22.1%
2019	37.56	807^th	1315	38.6%
2021	44.73	435^th	818	46.8%
2022	29.04	1152^nd	1503	23.4%
2023	23.82	1169^th	1429	18.2%
2024	37.77	941^st	1531	38.5%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Van Rensselaer Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	6.58	1371^st	1408	2.6%
2019	7.27	1297^th	1338	3.1%
2021	6.18	1194^th	1224	2.5%
2022	10.95	1312^th	1399	6.2%
2023	7.27	1279^th	1337	4.3%
2024	9.57	1317^th	1392	5.4%

See the entire list of Best New York Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: NY State Education Department, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: NY State Education Department

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Enrollment information for Van Rensselaer Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	497	42	0	5	1	n/a	n/a	0	545
1990	517	34	0	7	0	n/a	n/a	0	558
1991	493	34	0	12	6	n/a	n/a	30	575
1992	534	30	1	12	4	n/a	n/a	0	581
1993	510	43	0	13	5	n/a	n/a	0	571
1994	529	43	0	17	6	n/a	n/a	0	595
1995	548	76	0	2	1	n/a	n/a	0	627
1996	548	76	0	2	1	n/a	n/a	0	627
1997	525	70	0	15	6	n/a	n/a	0	616
1998	501	79	0	16	3	n/a	n/a	0	599
1999	475	81	6	21	3	n/a	n/a	0	586
2000	475	92	6	13	0	n/a	n/a	1	587
2001	440	76	12	14	0	n/a	n/a	0	542
2002	432	90	12	12	1	n/a	n/a	0	547
2003	432	90	12	12	1	n/a	n/a	0	547
2004	412	77	16	15	0	n/a	n/a	0	520
2005	380	77	22	19	2	n/a	n/a	0	500
2006	369	90	30	19	4	n/a	n/a	0	512
2007	341	84	26	10	10	n/a	n/a	33	504
2008	356	60	40	13	0	n/a	n/a	34	503
2009	353	73	47	21	0	n/a	n/a	30	524
2010	375	69	55	23	0	n/a	n/a	43	565
2011	430	82	63	37	0	0	36	0	648
2012	407	62	92	45	0	0	43	0	649
2013	509	76	87	14	0	0	19	0	705
2014	435	64	93	40	0	0	36	0	668
2015	427	67	93	46	0	0	51	0	684
2016	392	75	103	55	0	0	68	0	693
2017	368	79	95	54	0	0	67	0	663
2018	360	86	107	72	1	0	64	0	690
2019	331	89	96	79	1	0	72	0	668
2020	310	65	94	75	1	0	70	0	615
2021	266	70	91	70	1	0	62	0	560
2022	245	55	72	61	0	0	72	0	505
2023	232	46	65	67	0	0	83	0	493
2024	208	52	63	76	1	0	75	0	475

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Van Rensselaer Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	545	36.9	14.7	n/a
1990	558	36.9	15.1	n/a
1991	575	41.4	13.8	n/a
1992	581	36.4	15.9	n/a
1993	571	35.5	16.1	n/a
1994	595	37.5	15.9	60.5
1995	627	40.2	15.6	52.6
1996	627	40.2	15.6	52.6
1997	616	41.1	15.0	59.3
1998	599	41.7	14.4	52.4
1999	586	39.7	14.8	57
2000	587	44.2	13.3	66.6
2001	542	42.0	12.9	59
2002	547	45.7	12.0	74.2
2003	547	45.7	12.0	74.2
2004	520	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	500	41.7	12.0	78.4
2006	512	44.0	11.6	62.7
2007	504	42.0	12.0	63.7
2008	503	44.0	11.4	65
2009	524	43.0	12.2	68.6
2010	565	45.0	12.5	69.5
2011	648	56.0	11.5	54
2012	649	46.0	14.1	71
2013	705	49.0	14.3	74.8
2014	668	46.5	14.3	57.3
2015	684	51.0	13.4	60.5
2016	693	53.0	13.0	70.9
2017	663	51.3	12.9	74.1
2018	690	51.0	13.5	62.6
2019	668	51.0	13.0	0
2020	615	52.0	11.8	66.7
2021	560	42.7	13.0	58.4
2022	505	37.7	13.3	45.9
2023	493	31.2	15.7	70.2
2024	475	32.4	14.6	60.8

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Van Rensselaer Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	545	36.9	14.7	n/a
1990	558	36.9	15.1	n/a
1991	575	41.4	13.8	n/a
1992	581	36.4	15.9	n/a
1993	571	35.5	16.1	n/a
1994	595	37.5	15.9	60.5
1995	627	40.2	15.6	52.6
1996	627	40.2	15.6	52.6
1997	616	41.1	15.0	59.3
1998	599	41.7	14.4	52.4
1999	586	39.7	14.8	57
2000	587	44.2	13.3	66.6
2001	542	42.0	12.9	59
2002	547	45.7	12.0	74.2
2003	547	45.7	12.0	74.2
2004	520	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	500	41.7	12.0	78.4
2006	512	44.0	11.6	62.7
2007	504	42.0	12.0	63.7
2008	503	44.0	11.4	65
2009	524	43.0	12.2	68.6
2010	565	45.0	12.5	69.5
2011	648	56.0	11.5	54
2012	649	46.0	14.1	71
2013	705	49.0	14.3	74.8
2014	668	46.5	14.3	57.3
2015	684	51.0	13.4	60.5
2016	693	53.0	13.0	70.9
2017	663	51.3	12.9	74.1
2018	690	51.0	13.5	62.6
2019	668	51.0	13.0	0
2020	615	52.0	11.8	66.7
2021	560	42.7	13.0	58.4
2022	505	37.7	13.3	45.9
2023	493	31.2	15.7	70.2
2024	475	32.4	14.6	60.8

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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