Hesston Middle, Hesston KS - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Hesston Middle

Hesston Middle serves grades five through eight in the Hesston public school system, a small, tight-knit district anchored in a prairie town where manufacturing, agriculture, and a Mennonite-affiliated college shape daily life. For a family considering this school, the picture that emerges from the available data is one of solid academic performance within a largely homogeneous student body, set in a community with stable housing costs and modest growth.

On state assessments, Hesston Middle’s results sit near the top among the districts in Harvey County. The school’s overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile of that comparison set. Looked at grade by grade, math proficiency rises steadily from grade five through grade eight, with the highest share of students meeting the state’s standard in eighth-grade math. English language arts results cluster in a narrower band across the four grades, consistently reaching a majority of students. Science results are available for fifth and eighth graders; the fifth-grade cohort shows a notably larger share meeting proficiency than the eighth-grade group. While these numbers depict a school where most students are doing well academically, a parent may want to ask the school directly about the dip in eighth-grade science and whether any instructional or curricular shifts are underway.

The student body is small and racially homogeneous. The great majority of students are white. Hispanic students make up the next largest group, with small shares of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that indicates some economic diversity but is modest compared to many Kansas schools. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported in the data we looked at; this is a gap a family might want to fill by contacting the school.

The school itself sits on Ridge Road in Hesston, a community whose economy rests on two major manufacturers—AGCO (farm equipment) and Excel Industries (mowing equipment)—and on Hesston College, a two-year liberal arts school. The town’s population has been broadly stable with a slight recent decline. Housing values in the area fall close to the statewide median, and the town’s auto-oriented, low-density layout means most families drive to school and activities. No recent major district-level changes—new programs, boundary shifts, or leadership turnover—were identified in publicly available sources, suggesting a period of operational continuity.

Because Hesston Middle serves only grades five through eight, it does not have a graduation rate, and the typical high school metrics around college and career pathways don’t apply here. The school’s charter and magnet status are both unmarked, and Title I eligibility was not specified, so it is unclear whether it receives federal funds for low-income students. No data on chronic absenteeism or discipline was available.

Overall, Hesston Middle presents as a school where a majority of students meet state standards in math and reading, and where academic performance outpaces many of its county peers. The student population is small and predominantly white, set in a town with a stable industrial and college base. For a family that values a midsize middle school in a tight-knit rural community with a track record of above-average test results, this school is worth a close look, though questions about special education and English learner supports, and the dip in eighth-grade science, are worth raising directly with the school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 20 pts above state median

Grade 651%

School 51% · District 51%

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 767%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 33 pts above state median

Grade 871%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 36 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 14 pts above state median

Grade 665%

School 65% · District 65%

▲ 23 pts above state median

Grade 763%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 22 pts above state median

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 25 pts above state median

Science

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 69%

▲ 25 pts above state median

Grade 858%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 22 pts above state median

This schoolHesston, 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-income44%Higher-income69%25 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income32%Higher-income78%47 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income21%Higher-income74%52 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income32%Higher-income74%42 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income38%Higher-income67%30 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income21%Higher-income63%42 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income43%Higher-income74%31 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income37%Higher-income83%46 pp gap