The top reported proficiency rate is 33% in Science. The lowest is 27% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Holcomb Middle
Holcomb Middle serves sixth through eighth graders in the small, mainly agricultural town of Holcomb, Kansas, about a short drive west of Garden City in Finney County. The town grew steadily through the twentieth century as agribusiness and a power plant drew families, though recent estimates suggest the population has leveled off. The school sits within the compact incorporated area, part of a single campus cluster that also houses Wiley Elementary, Holcomb Elementary, and the high school. For a family moving to this part of southwest Kansas, the middle school is the sole public option for those grades in the district, and the community’s scale means the school is woven into daily life.
The student body numbers roughly two hundred and twenty, a size that allows for a familiar, small-school feel. Just over half of the students are White, a substantial share are Hispanic, and smaller numbers identify as two or more races, American Indian or Alaska Native, or Black. A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a level that places the school in a higher-poverty context. No data on students with disabilities or English learners was available in the profile, a gap families may wish to explore directly with the school.
State assessment results from the Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) for the most recent school year show that proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science were below what many families would hope to see. In sixth-grade math, about one in five students scored at the proficient or advanced level. Seventh-grade math was closer to one in three, and eighth-grade math reached just under half. In ELA, the pattern was similar but with lower rates overall: roughly one in five sixth graders met the bar, rising to about one in three by eighth grade. Eighth-grade science landed at about one in three proficient. These are not strong results, and a parent considering this school should look into what supports the school offers for students who are below grade level. The state changed its cut scores for these tests, which means the results cannot be directly compared with those from prior years, so it is not possible to say whether these numbers represent an improvement or decline.
Placement relative to other districts in Finney County is based on a proficiency index that averages scores across subjects and grades. Holcomb Middle’s index sits above the midpoint among the two districts in the county. Given that there are only two districts, this means it lands between the lower and higher one. The overall context, however, is that proficiency rates are modest in both districts, so the comparison does not indicate strong performance in absolute terms.
As a middle school, Holcomb Middle has no graduation rate to report. It also does not offer the advanced course pathways or career-technical programs that might appear at the high school level, which is typical for this grade band. Nor does the profile include any available data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing, such as student-to-teacher ratios. Families who want a fuller picture of school climate, class sizes, or extracurricular opportunities would need to reach out to the school directly, as those details were not captured here.
The housing market in the Holcomb area shows a typical home value that is somewhat below the state benchmark, and the town’s median household income has historically been moderate. The economy of the broader region centers on agriculture and energy, with many residents likely commuting to Garden City for work. The school district itself is a local employer. For a family that values a small-town setting and a close-knit school environment, Holcomb Middle offers a straightforward, neighborhood-school experience. The academic results suggest that it serves a population with real needs; how well it addresses them is not fully visible from the data at hand.
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