The top reported proficiency rate is 63% in English language arts. The lowest is 49% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Lincoln Elem
Lincoln Elementary serves the youngest students in Clay County, Kansas, covering prekindergarten through third grade. It is part of the Clay County school district and sits in the town of Clay Center, the county seat, a small, quiet community organized around a traditional downtown core with civic buildings, shops, parks, and a public library. The town is experiencing a slight population decline, and the feel is stable, unhurried small-town life. Because the school only serves early elementary grades, many of the metrics that matter for older students do not apply here: there is no graduation rate, no college or career readiness data, and no advanced coursework.
The student body is large for a primary school serving these grades, with enrollment spread across prekindergarten, kindergarten, first, second, and third grades. The racial composition is almost entirely white, with small numbers of Hispanic, multiracial, Black, Asian, and Native American students. A substantial share of students come from low-income households, as measured by free or reduced-price meal eligibility. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not available.
Academic performance comes from state testing in third grade, the only tested grade. In English language arts, a clear majority of third graders scored at or above the proficient level. In math, just under half did. The state recently changed its cut scores for proficiency, so trend comparisons with prior years are not possible, and a parent may want to ask the school how this year's results compare to what teachers see in the classroom day to day. The school shares its district with one other elementary and a high school, but the small number of schools in the county made it impossible to produce a reliable comparison among them on proficiency.
The community is modestly priced. Home values in the area are well below the state average, and the national mortgage rate environment is typical. The town’s economy rests on government, the school district, and local services, with the familiar quiet of a rural county seat. There are parks, a small zoo, an aquatic park, and a civic calendar that includes an annual festival. The district itself did not show recent notable changes, so the school and the town provide the context.
For a parent, Lincoln Elementary offers a straightforward picture. It is an early-primary school in a small, slow-changing Kansas town. The student population is homogeneous, the community is affordable and stable, and the school’s academic results are a mixed snapshot for one grade. The lack of data on special education or English learner services, and the inability to compare the school against peers in the county, are gaps a parent may want to explore directly with the school. The school’s role is foundational, not evaluative in the way a high school’s would be, and the measure of it will be in the daily classroom experience more than in any single test result.
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