The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in English language arts. The lowest is 42% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Wiley Elementary School
Wiley Elementary School is the elementary campus for a small, rural agricultural district in southeastern Colorado. It serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and is the only elementary school in the Wiley School District No. Re-13 Jt.
The school is small. Most of the roughly 150 students are white, with a substantial Hispanic population that accounts for the remainder of the student body. More than half of students come from low-income households, as measured by free and reduced-price meal eligibility. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and serves the town of Wiley itself, a community of a few hundred residents where the school and three local churches are the primary civic anchors and where most adults commute to the nearby town of Lamar for work.
On the most recent state assessments, Wiley Elementary returned results that stand out in its immediate region. In English language arts, a majority of students met the state's proficiency benchmark. In math, about two in five did. In fifth-grade science, just under half reached the proficiency bar. When these results are set against other districts in Prowers County, the school's overall proficiency index lands in the top quartile, a notably strong showing for the area. The school reports strong participation rates on the tests, which makes the results reliable.
The district itself completed a strategic plan in early 2024 built around four pillars: academic excellence, partnerships with families and the community, organizational excellence, and a safe and supportive environment. This plan was publicly reported and gives a stated direction for school-level priorities. The district also publicly stated a commitment to making its schools a technology-rich environment while keeping a focus on direct instruction in a formal classroom setting. That dual emphasis suggests the school is not trending toward a fully virtual or project-based model but rather blending digital tools with a traditional approach.
Because this is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to review, and the school does not serve grades where the state administers all tested subject levels. Data on special education identification rates and the percentage of English learners was not available in the school's profile. A parent looking to understand those parts of the student support picture would need to ask the school directly.
The housing context in the area is modest. Home values in the zip code are well below the Colorado state benchmark and have declined slightly over the past year, which is consistent with a rural area that is not experiencing heavy development pressure. The town of Wiley has seen a slight population decline since the 2020 Census, and there is no public evidence of new housing construction or major growth initiatives. The community's character is stable and agricultural, with most commercial activity concentrated in Lamar.
For a family considering Wiley Elementary, the picture is of a small, community-centered school that performs well relative to its rural peers. The academic results in English language arts are the strongest signal, while math proficiency is lower and may be an area a parent would want to ask about. The school's size means that class sections are small and that individual attention is a structural feature of the environment. The district's formal commitments to technology and traditional instruction, combined with its recent strategic planning, give a sense of an institution that is thinking deliberately about its direction even in a context of limited resources and a stable or slightly shrinking local population.
See more original research from School Decision →