Centralia Elem, Centralia KS - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Centralia Elem

Centralia Elem is a public school serving preschool through sixth grade in the small rural community of Centralia, Kansas. The town, a compact grid of streets, sits amid agricultural land where wheat, milo, corn, and soybeans are the major crops, and cattle and hogs are raised. A recreational lake a short drive from town offers camping, boating, and disc golf. Hidden Park, the city pool (recently rehabilitated), the library, and the community center are all within walking distance of the school, which is integrated into the town’s street grid rather than isolated on a separate campus. Population growth is very slow, and recent development has centered on civic infrastructure like the pool project rather than new housing.

The school itself is modestly sized, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across grades from kindergarten through sixth, plus a prekindergarten program. Racially, the student body is overwhelmingly white, with a very small Hispanic population, a trace of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students, and a small multiracial group. The share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is relatively low, suggesting that most families are not in the lowest income bracket, though the area’s median household income and housing values are below national benchmarks.

Academically, Centralia Elem turns in a mixed picture. In math, proficiency rates are solid in third, fourth, and fifth grades, then drop noticeably in sixth grade. In English language arts, the pattern is similar: strong results in third grade, a slight softening in fourth and fifth, and a sharp decline by sixth. Science, tested only in fifth grade, shows a high proficiency rate. When these individual grade-level results are combined into an overall proficiency index, the school stands well above the other districts in Nemaha County—a clear strength. However, the drop in sixth-grade performance in both math and reading is pronounced enough that a parent may want to ask the school about its middle-grade transition and support for older elementary students. The state assessment used changed its cut scores in math and ELA, so trends from prior years are not directly comparable, but the current year’s numbers are what the school reports.

Because Centralia Elem serves only through sixth grade, there is no graduation rate. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, and course access were not available from the sources used here. The district, Vermillion USD 380, appears to have no major recent changes of lasting impact publicly reported.

For a family weighing options, Centralia Elem offers a small, cohesive elementary experience in a quiet farming community where daily errands are walkable and civic life centers on the school and the lake. The strong overall proficiency relative to other Nemaha County districts is a plus, though the dip in sixth grade is worth a closer look. The limited economic and housing growth means the area is unlikely to see rapid demographic shifts, and the low poverty rate among students suggests a generally stable peer environment. A parent interested in academic support for the transition to middle school should inquire directly with the school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 375%

School 75% · District 70% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median

Grade 478%

School 78% · District 62% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median

Grade 585%

School 85% · District 88% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 44 pts above state median

Grade 659%

School 59% · District 62% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 18 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 375%

School 75% · District 70% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median

Grade 470%

School 70% · District 62% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 76% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 20 pts above state median

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 60% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median

Science

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 76% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median

This schoolVermillion, 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.