Northwest Elem, Dodge City KS - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Northwest Elem

Northwest Elem is a public elementary school in Dodge City, Kansas, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It is one of several elementary schools within the Dodge City district. The school enrolls a moderate number of students for its grade band, and the large majority qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a sign that the school serves a low-income community. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a much smaller share of white students and even smaller numbers of Black or Asian students. Data on English learners and students receiving special education services was not available in the material reviewed, so a family wanting to understand those supports should ask the school directly.

Dodge City itself is a city shaped by meatpacking and agriculture. Cargill Meat Solutions and National Beef operate large facilities there, and the city also functions as a supply and service hub for the surrounding farm economy. Tourism, centered on the city’s Old West heritage, adds another layer to the local economy. The population has been essentially flat over the past several years, with a slight decline according to recent estimates. Housing values in the area sit below the state median, and rent is similarly moderate. The city is compact, with short average commute times and a downtown that houses the county courthouse and civic life. The built environment is typical of a High Plains town: low density, wide streets, and a reputation as a windy place.

On state assessments, Northwest Elem’s results vary by grade and subject but overall fall below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Ford County, the set used for this analysis. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above in third and fourth grade was modest, while fifth grade was stronger. In English language arts, the pattern was similar: third and fifth grade showed a higher share of students reaching proficiency than fourth grade. Fifth grade science proficiency was higher than math at that same grade. The state changed cut scores for these assessments, which means the proficiency rates may not be directly comparable to prior years. Because the school does not serve grades beyond five, there is no graduation rate, and data on chronic absenteeism was also not available.

The school’s lack of publicly reported information on staffing ratios, discipline rates, and attendance makes it harder to assess the classroom environment from the outside. A family considering this school may want to ask about class sizes, teacher tenure, and the availability of instructional supports such as reading intervention or English learner services, particularly given the large share of students who qualify for meal assistance and the likelihood that many are English learners, though that figure was not confirmed in the data.

Overall, Northwest Elem sits in a stable, working-class city where housing remains relatively affordable. Its student population is heavily low-income and majority Hispanic. Academic proficiency, while uneven across grades, is below the middle of the county’s districts, and a parent would benefit from understanding what programs and interventions the school offers to address that.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 26% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 18% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 20 pts below state median

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 24% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 33% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 22% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 25 pts below state median

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 29% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median

Science

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 32% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median

This schoolDodge City, 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 3Lower-income24%Higher-income44%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income17%Higher-income37%20 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income36%Higher-income56%19 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income17%Higher-income33%16 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income17%Higher-income26%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income44%15 pp gap