Clifton-clyde Middle School, Clifton KS

Original Research by School Decision on Clifton-clyde Middle School

Clifton-Clyde Middle School serves grades four through eight in the small rural community of Clifton, a town that straddles the Clay and Washington county line. The school is one of three buildings in the Clifton-Clyde district, with the grade school and middle school in Clifton and the high school in the neighboring town of Clyde. The town itself is compact, oriented around Parallel Street, which is also Kansas Highway 9, and retains a quiet agricultural character. Population has been in a slow decline over recent decades. Civic life centers on Berner Memorial Park, the public library, and seasonal parades. There is no public transit, and the nearest larger towns are a drive away.

The school’s enrollment is small, with students spread across five grade levels. The student body is overwhelmingly white, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in this report.

On the Kansas state assessments, performance varies across subjects and grades. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or higher is roughly in the range of a third to over half depending on the grade, with fourth grade the strongest and seventh grade the weakest. In mathematics, proficiency rates are generally lower, with most grades showing that fewer than half of students met the bar; eighth grade math shows the lowest results. Science is tested in fifth and eighth grades; fifth-grade students performed at a higher level than eighth-grade students. Overall, when the school’s results across all tested subjects and grades are combined into a single index, Clifton-Clyde Middle School falls in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Washington County. The comparison is based on only two districts in the county, so the range is narrow. Kansas recently changed its cut scores for math and English language arts, which means these results should not be directly compared with scores from prior years.

Because this is a middle school, there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, and staffing were not provided. The school is not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status was not listed.

The local housing market is considerably more affordable than both the Kansas and national averages. Home values are low, and estimated monthly mortgage costs are modest. Rents are also on the low side relative to incomes, making the area accessible for buyers and renters on tight budgets. However, with the town’s population decline, the housing market reflects limited demand and an aging stock.

For a family considering this school, the picture is largely about scale and setting. Clifton-Clyde Middle School is a small, rural school in a quiet, shrinking community where everyone is likely to know one another. Academic performance is mixed, with stronger results in some grades and subjects than in others, but overall the school’s proficiency rates trail those of the only other district in the county. Parents who place a high priority on math outcomes may want to follow up directly with the school to understand what supports are in place. The district has no recent publicly reported changes that would affect families’ day-to-day experience. This is a straightforward, no-frills middle school in a place where the pace of life is slow and the options are few.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 12 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 37%

even with state median

Science

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 12 pts above state median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 4 pts above state median

This schoolClifton-Clyde, 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 5Lower-income33%Higher-income50%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income40%Higher-income46%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income17%Higher-income53%37 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income60%27 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income31%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income0%Higher-income40%40 pp gap