Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 43521

ZIP code 43521 contains a single elementary school: Fayette Elementary School, part of the Fayette Local district. It serves grades PK–5 with 219 students and a student-teacher ratio of 13.9 to 1, which implies roughly 16 full-time teachers. Because this is the only elementary school in the area, there is no cross-school comparison to make — the useful comparisons are against the district and the state. Notably, school and district test results are identical in every reported area, suggesting the district's elementary results come largely from this school. About 53.88% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, so a majority of the student body is identified as economically disadvantaged.

The clearest strength is 5th grade. In 2025–26, 5th grade English Language Arts reached 91.7% proficiency against a statewide 70.4% — 21.3 points above the state. Fifth grade math was 66.7% versus 59.1% statewide, and 5th grade science was 66.7% versus 62.7%. The 2024–25 year was strong schoolwide: 8 of 9 reported test areas beat the state average, and the school ranked 609 of 1,558 elementary schools, in the 61st percentile with 3 stars. Chronic absenteeism in 2025–26 was 14.0%, five points below the district's 19.0%, a positive sign even though roughly 1 in 7 students is still chronically absent.

The main concern is 3rd grade. In 2025–26, 3rd grade ELA was 44.4% versus 63.4% statewide — 19.0 points below — and 3rd grade math was 51.9% versus 62.1%, a gap of 10.2 points. Across all seven reported 2025–26 tests, the school averaged about 63.9% against the state's 63.8%, but overall parity hides large differences between grades, with ELA ranging from 44.4% in 3rd grade to 91.7% in 5th. The school's 2025–26 rank fell to 813 of 1,560, at the 48th percentile with 2 stars, close to its 2023–24 standing and well below its 2024–25 peak. With 219 students spread across PK–5, individual grade cohorts are small, so a few students can shift percentages sharply. The only spending figure available is $10,901 per student from 2018–19, which is historical context rather than a current measure.