Macarthur Elem, Fort Leavenworth KS

Original Research by School Decision on Macarthur Elem

MacArthur Elementary sits on Fort Leavenworth, a United States Army installation that functions as a military education and training hub. The school serves preschool through fifth grade and is part of the Fort Leavenworth school district, a small system that operates entirely on the post. The student body is majority white, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller shares of students who identify with two or more races, Asian, or Black. A very small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a reflection of the military-employed households that make up the community. No data was available for the share of students with disabilities or English learners, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports.

Academically, MacArthur Elementary posts strong results. Across tested grades and subjects, the school’s overall proficiency index lands in the top quartile among districts in Leavenworth County. In English language arts, the large majority of third, fourth, and fifth graders meet or exceed state standards, with the strongest showing in third grade. Math proficiency is also solid, with fourth and fifth graders performing at a notably high level, while third-grade math is somewhat lower but still above the county midpoint. In science, fifth graders perform similarly well. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there are no graduation rate, chronic absenteeism, or college-readiness metrics to report.

The school is located on a gated military post, which shapes daily life. The installation is self-contained, with family housing, parks, a golf course, museums, and the Command and General Staff College. Access is controlled through security checkpoints, so the school community is inherently stable and familiar for military families, but also relatively insulated from the surrounding town of Leavenworth. The district operates on a military cycle, and the research found no recent referenda, curriculum overhauls, or other major changes that would affect parents—the system appears to be in a steady state.

For a family stationed at Fort Leavenworth, MacArthur Elementary offers a well-performing elementary school in a contained, supportive environment. The student body has a very low poverty rate and the academic results are among the strongest in the county. A family living off post would need to consider the daily logistics of entering the installation. Outside families not connected to the military would not typically have access to this school. Overall, MacArthur provides a strong academic pathway for its students, with consistently high proficiency rates across subjects and grades.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 68% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 472%

School 72% · District 69% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 578%

School 78% · District 71% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 384%

School 84% · District 78% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 479%

School 79% · District 76% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 575%

School 75% · District 78% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Science

Grade 578%

School 78% · District 71% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

This schoolFort Leavenworth, 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.