The top reported proficiency rate is 75% in Science. The lowest is 53% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Tescott Junior High/high School
Tescott Junior High/High School serves grades seven through twelve in a single building that houses the entire secondary program for the Twin Valley district. The school is small, and that scale shapes most of what a family can expect here. A parent considering this school should understand it first as an intimate, rural setting where the student body is overwhelmingly white and more than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
The academic picture is mixed and requires some attention to grade level. On the Kansas state assessments, seventh-grade math and English language arts performance matched each other closely, with just under half of students scoring proficient or above. Eighth-grade performance was notably stronger. In eighth-grade English language arts, a clear majority of students met the proficiency bar, and in eighth-grade science, three out of four students scored proficient or above. That science result stands out as a genuine strength. The eighth-grade math results also landed appreciably above the seventh-grade showing. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index placed it in the top quartile relative to other districts in Ottawa County, meaning it performs well against the only two-district county comparison available. Because Kansas changed its cut scores for these assessments, year-over-year trend comparisons are not reliable, so it is difficult to say whether these results represent an upward trajectory or a single snapshot.
The school’s very small enrollment means that course offerings and extracurricular breadth may be limited compared to a larger high school. The district-level data did not provide specific information on Advanced Placement, dual-credit, or career and technical education pathways at Tescott, so a family wanting a wide menu of advanced courses or specialized CTE programs should ask the school directly what is available. The town’s own promotional materials highlight small class sizes and numerous extracurricular activities as strengths, which is consistent with what a small rural school can offer: close relationships between students and staff, and the opportunity for nearly any student to participate in sports, clubs, or leadership roles because there are enough slots to go around.
Tescott itself is a small, shrinking rural town. Its population has declined over several decades, and the median age is high. There are no major employers within the town; most working residents commute to Salina, roughly a half-hour drive southeast. The housing market reflects the area’s affordability, with home values and rents below state and national benchmarks. There is no public transit, and walkability is minimal. Civic life centers on Lions Pride Park, school events, and seasonal recreation. For a family, this means that the school is effectively the hub of the community.
Graduation rate data was not reported in the available information, which is an important gap. A parent should ask the school for its four-year graduation rate directly. Similarly, chronic absenteeism figures were not available, and no discipline or staffing data was present in the record. The school’s status regarding Title I funding was also not provided. These are all reasonable questions to raise with the administration.
The Twin Valley district serves two high schools, Tescott and Bennington, and the district brief turned up no recent major changes or strategic initiatives publicly reported. That absence does not signal anything negative; it simply means the district has not made headlines for reorganizations, bond measures, or program launches.
In sum, Tescott Junior High/High School fits a family looking for a very small, rural school where a student can be known personally and where a majority of eighth graders demonstrate solid proficiency in reading and science. A family that values a broad array of advanced coursework or wants to see strong graduation and attendance metrics before enrolling will need to do follow-up research with the school itself. The community is quiet, affordable, and shrinking, and the school is its centerpiece.
See more original research from School Decision →