CONWAY ELEMENTARY vs CLARK ELEM.

Conway Elementary and Clark Elem. are both high-performing St. Louis elementary schools separated by only 4.7 miles, yet meaningful gaps exist across every major metric. Conway Elementary holds an overall rating of 9.5/10 against Clark Elem.'s 8.9/10 — a 0.6-point gap — and the state rank spread tells the fuller story: Conway Elementary ranks #9 of 2,216 Missouri schools while Clark Elem. ranks #50 of the same pool. Both are exceptional, but Conway Elementary sits in a rarified tier that fewer than a dozen schools statewide reach.

On academics, Conway Elementary scores 9.9/10 versus Clark Elem.'s 9.5/10, a 0.4-point difference that reflects consistently stronger proficiency outcomes. The growth gap is more pronounced: Conway Elementary earns a 9.7/10 growth score against Clark Elem.'s 8.8/10, nearly a full point. Growth scores measure how much students improve relative to similar peers year over year, so Conway Elementary's edge here indicates that students are progressing faster than their starting points would predict — not just arriving advantaged and staying there.

The two schools serve demographically similar populations. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility is 6% at Conway Elementary and 5% at Clark Elem., indicating both schools draw from predominantly higher-income households. Conway Elementary enrolls 414 students compared to Clark Elem.'s 288, making it the larger campus by 126 students. Student-teacher ratios are close — 13.4:1 at Conway Elementary versus 12.0:1 at Clark Elem. — meaning Clark Elem. offers slightly smaller class sizes despite its lower enrollment, which some families will weigh against Conway Elementary's higher academic and growth scores.

One structural difference matters for families planning beyond the early grades: Clark Elem. serves students through fifth grade (KG–05), while Conway Elementary's program ends at fourth grade (KG–04), requiring families to transition one year earlier. Parents who value continuity in a single building through the end of elementary school will find Clark Elem.'s grade span a practical advantage, even as Conway Elementary leads on every measured performance dimension.