The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in English language arts. The lowest is 48% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Deerfield Elem
Deerfield Elementary is a K-5 school in the Lawrence Public Schools district, located on Lawrence Avenue on the city’s west side. Its enrollment is moderate for a school serving the elementary grades, and the student body is predominantly white, with a notable share of students who identify as two or more races. Hispanic and Black students each make up a smaller but present portion of the population. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which is around the level one sees in many similar communities. The school is not a charter, and its Title I status was not reported.
Academically, Deerfield’s performance on the Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) shows a mixed picture depending on grade and subject. In reading, proficiency rates across grades three through five hover in a range that is generally solid, with the fourth-grade cohort performing particularly well compared to the other grades. Math results are more uneven. Third graders showed a weaker result, with a proficiency rate that trails the other tested grades. Fourth graders in math posted a strong outcome, while fifth graders were in between their younger and older peers. In science, which is only tested in fifth grade, the proficiency rate was a bit below half. Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile relative to other elementary schools in Douglas County, meaning Deerfield performs above the middle of the pack compared with its immediate neighbors.
A few cautionary notes. The state changed its cut scores for math and English language arts in the 2024-25 school year, so these results are not directly comparable to prior years, and the trend data necessary to see whether performance is improving or declining was not available. Participation rates for the assessments are also missing from the data, so it is not clear what share of students actually took the tests. These are gaps a parent may want to ask the school or district about directly.
The school environment data is thin. No information was reported on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, staffing ratios, or class sizes. Community context questions a family might have about teacher experience or supports for students with disabilities or English learners could not be answered from the available sources. The district itself returned little in the way of recent changes or strategic initiatives from a public search, so it is not possible to point to any recent shift in policy or programming.
Lawrence provides a distinctive setting for a school. It is a mid-sized college town dominated by the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University, with an economy built around education, healthcare, and manufacturing. The downtown corridor along Massachusetts Street is a recognized destination for dining and shopping, and the university campus sits within walking distance of that core. The city has been growing steadily, with new housing development concentrated near the KU campus, in the Rock Chalk Park area, and along Iowa Street. For a family looking at Deerfield, the west-side location places it in a part of Lawrence that has seen both single-family and apartment construction, and the school is within the attendance area for a district that serves the city broadly. Rents in the area have risen at a noticeable clip recently, and home values are above the state average, reflecting the desirability of the Lawrence market. The overall walkability of the city is low except in the downtown and campus zones, so most errands require a car.
Deerfield Elementary presents itself as a school with academic outcomes that are competitive within Douglas County, particularly in reading at the middle elementary grades, though the math results show variability by grade that could bear watching. The missing data on participation and discipline means there are limits to how complete a picture a prospective parent can get from public sources alone.
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