The top reported proficiency rate is 32% in English language arts. The lowest is 26% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Robert E Clark Middle
Robert E. Clark Middle School serves sixth through eighth grade in Bonner Springs, a small suburban city on the western edge of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Bonner Springs sits along the Kansas River amid rolling hills, with Interstate 70 and the Kansas Turnpike running through its northern reaches. The city is a regional draw for its Azura Amphitheater, the Kansas City Renaissance Festival, the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, and other attractions, and it functions partly as a bedroom community for the wider metro. Residents access a traditional downtown core near the river, but the city spans a large area and is fundamentally car-dependent. Schools in the Bonner Springs-Edwardsville district are spread across separate campuses.
Clark Middle School enrolls a student body of several hundred, typical for a suburban middle school serving three grades. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population is majority white, with a notable Hispanic presence and a smaller Black cohort, along with small shares of Asian, multiracial, and Native American students. Data on the share of students with disabilities or English learner status was not available in the sources reviewed.
On the Kansas Assessment Program, the school’s proficiency rates across tested subjects and grades fall below the midpoint relative to other districts in Wyandotte County, though the county comparison includes only a handful of districts, so the benchmark is a limited one. In sixth-grade math, roughly three in ten students scored proficient or above. Seventh-grade math came in at a similar level. Eighth-grade math was lower, around one in five students reaching proficiency. In English language arts, the pattern was comparable, with sixth grade at slightly above one-third proficient, seventh grade just above three in ten, and eighth grade just below three in ten. Eighth-grade science proficiency was in a similar range, with roughly a quarter of students reaching the proficient threshold.
There was no chronic absenteeism data reported for the school, and no graduation rate because the school does not serve high school grades. The state’s testing framework saw a cut-score change in both math and English language arts for this assessment cycle, which makes direct comparisons with prior years uncertain; the trend data was not available to clarify whether these results represent a shift from earlier performance or are in line with recent history.
A parent or resident looking at these results will see an academic picture where the majority of students are not reaching the proficient bar in any tested subject at any grade level. This is a school where a family would want to understand what supports are in place for students who are below grade-level expectations, and what the school’s approach is for accelerating learning. The data does not show how the school’s results break down by student subgroup, so it is not possible from this information alone to see whether certain groups are performing differently.
The community context matters for a family considering this middle school. Bonner Springs offers a range of parks, a museum, a golf course, and seasonal community events like the Tiblow Days festival. The broader Kansas City metro is a short drive away, with employment centers and entertainment districts nearby. Housing in the 66012 zip code was valued near the higher end of the state median, and rents were at a level that would consume a moderate share of a typical household income at current national income benchmarks. Specific information on recent development plans or new housing projects in Bonner Springs was not found in the available sources, so the growth trajectory for the immediate area is not clearly documented here.
Robert E. Clark Middle is a traditional public middle school in a suburban district with a mix of residential and destination-attraction land uses. Its test scores place it on the lower end of a small county comparison set, and the majority of its students are not currently meeting state proficiency standards in math, English, or science. A family weighing this school would benefit from a direct conversation with the school about its curriculum, intervention programs, and any recent or planned changes in instructional strategy.
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