Rossville Jr.-sr. High School, Rossville KS

Original Research by School Decision on Rossville Jr.-sr. High School

Rossville Jr.-Sr. High School serves the small, primarily residential town of Rossville in Shawnee County, part of the Topeka metropolitan area just off the Highway 24 and Interstate 70 junction. The school houses grades seven through twelve under Kaw Valley, a regional district that extends across Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Pottawatomie, and portions of Jackson Counties. The town itself is compact, with a traditional grid layout centered on Main Street, and community life revolves around local organizations like the Rossville High School Booster and Rossville Grade School Volunteers. Recent years brought the opening of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Regional Center, reflecting a notable Native American presence in the area, and the town’s housing market remains affordable relative to broader measures.

The student body is comparatively small for a combined junior-senior high school. White students make up the large majority of enrollment, with smaller shares of Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, two or more races, Black, and Asian students. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure that tracks socioeconomic need in public schools. The district brief turned up no recent organizational or programmatic changes of note, so the operating context appears stable.

State assessment results are available for seventh and eighth grade in math and English language arts, and for eighth grade in science. In English language arts, both seventh and eighth graders posted proficiency rates near the midpoint, with roughly half of students meeting the state’s proficiency standard. Math results were weaker. Seventh grade math proficiency came in below the midpoint, and eighth grade math proficiency was notably lower, with about a third of students meeting the standard. Eighth grade science proficiency was also below the midpoint at about a third of students. The state cut scores for these assessments changed recently, so comparisons to prior years are not reliable, and the trend in performance over time cannot be meaningfully read from these numbers alone.

When placed relative to other districts in Shawnee County, the school’s overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades sits in the bottom quartile. This comparison set includes six districts, and proficiency data was available for five of them. The school’s composite score is lower than the median of that group. A parent may want to ask the school or district about specific instructional supports in math and science, and about how the combined junior-senior high structure influences course sequencing and intervention strategies across the full seven-through-twelve grade span.

The school’s graduation rate was not available in the data, so no assessment of high school completion can be made here. Chronic absenteeism data was also absent. These gaps may reflect the school’s own reporting practices or state data availability, and a parent interested in student engagement or how many seniors earn diplomas on time should check directly with the school.

Rossville Jr.-Sr. High School sits in a quiet, affordable town with a strong civic identity and a school that is woven into local life. Academically, English language arts outcomes are solid, while math and science results trail, and the overall proficiency picture is weaker than most other districts in Shawnee County. The small enrollment means close student-teacher relationships are possible, but it also means the range of elective and advanced course offerings may be narrower than what larger schools provide. A family looking at this school should ask about how the school addresses math proficiency, what pathways exist for students who want college-level or career-technical coursework, and how the junior-senior high structure supports both younger and older adolescents under one roof.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 49 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

348 schools plotted. 12 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 745%

School 45% · District 44% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 28% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 751%

School 51% · District 46% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 851%

School 51% · District 49% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Science

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 36% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

This schoolKaw Valley, 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 7Lower-income50%Higher-income52%2 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income36%Higher-income58%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income36%Higher-income48%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income18%Higher-income35%16 pp gap