Doniphan West Elementary School, Denton KS

Original Research by School Decision on Doniphan West Elementary School

Doniphan West Elementary School serves children from prekindergarten through sixth grade in a small, rural corner of Doniphan County, Kansas. The school is the elementary arm of the Doniphan West Schools district, and it sits on a highway stretch outside the incorporated city of Denton, not within a walkable town center. Denton itself is a very small village of aging homes on quiet streets, with no commercial district, no public library, and no parks described in available sources. The population is declining, not growing, and the nearest city of any size is St. Joseph, Missouri, about a short drive away. For families who want a rural, low-key setting, this is the context.

The school is small, with an enrollment that is typical for a rural elementary building in this region. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with small shares of children identifying as Hispanic, multiracial, Native American, or Black. Just under half of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which gives the school a moderate level of economic diversity but not a high-poverty profile. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how those groups are served.

Academically, Doniphan West Elementary’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quarter when compared with other districts in Doniphan County. That is a notable strength for a school of this size and setting. Looked at grade by grade, the picture is more mixed. In math, results range from a third of third graders reaching proficiency to closer to two-thirds of fifth graders doing so. In English language arts, the spread is similar: fifth graders posted a strong showing, while fourth graders and sixth graders were below half proficient. Science, tested only in fifth grade, came in at a solid level. The school’s testing year involved a change in cut scores, which makes year-over-year comparisons uncertain, but the single-year snapshot suggests that some grades are doing well while others may benefit from additional attention. A parent with a child entering fourth or sixth grade might want to ask what supports are in place for those cohorts.

Because the school only goes through sixth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism was available. No information on discipline, staffing ratios, or course access was provided either, so a full picture of school climate and support structures would require a conversation with the school.

Program offerings beyond the core curriculum were not listed in the data. Doniphan West Elementary is not a charter or magnet school, and its Title I status was not indicated. The district has no recent parent-relevant changes publicly reported, so the school appears stable in its operations.

For a family, the decision about Doniphan West Elementary is partly a decision about place. Denton and the surrounding area offer a quiet, rural life with limited amenities and a shrinking population. The school is a small, familiar environment where students are mostly white and from modest incomes. Academically, it holds its own within a small county, with pockets of strong performance and other spots where improvement is needed. A parent who values a close-knit rural school and is willing to engage with the school about grade-level outcomes may find this a good fit. Those seeking more program variety, urban resources, or a growing community will need to look elsewhere.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 37%

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 22 pts above state median

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 46%

▲ 5 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 360%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 38%

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 17 pts above state median

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 36%

▼ 5 pts below state median

Science

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 22 pts above state median

This schoolDoniphan West Schools, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income67%17 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income43%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income36%Higher-income88%51 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income44%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income8%Higher-income50%42 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income23%Higher-income50%27 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income88%60 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income47%Higher-income44%3 pp gap