Quail Run Elementary, Lawrence KS

Original Research by School Decision on Quail Run Elementary

Quail Run Elementary is a kindergarten-through-fifth-grade public school in Lawrence, within the Lawrence school district. The school serves a primarily white student body, with a notable share of students who identify as two or more races, and smaller representations of Hispanic, Black, and Asian students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is about what you would expect for a neighborhood elementary school in this community.

On the Kansas Assessment Program, Quail Run’s results present a clear picture. In English language arts, the share of students meeting or exceeding proficiency rises across the grades, from a solid majority in third grade to roughly two-thirds in fifth grade. Math proficiency follows a similar pattern, with third-grade results lower and fourth and fifth grades stronger. Science, tested only in fifth grade, also shows roughly three in five students at or above proficiency. The data does not include the number of students tested or participation rates, so a parent who wants a more granular view of how reliably these figures represent the whole grade would need to ask the school directly.

When compared against other districts in Douglas County, Quail Run’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades puts it in the top quarter of schools. That is a straightforward strength. The school is clearly performing at a higher level than many of its neighbors on this measure.

The school sits in the western part of Lawrence, a college town that is home to the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University. Lawrence blends a dense suburban feel with a vibrant downtown along Massachusetts Street, widely regarded as one of the best main streets in the Midwest. Most residents rent their homes, and the population skews toward students and young professionals. The economy is heavily shaped by education, healthcare, and manufacturing. Housing values in the area are above the state average, and rents have been rising.

Quail Run is a standard public elementary school with no charter or magnet status, and the data does not indicate whether it receives Title I funding. It serves only the elementary grades, so there is no high school graduation rate to report. The district has no major recent changes that are publicly documented, and no chronic absenteeism or discipline data is available for this school.

For a parent considering the school, the main takeaway is straightforward. Quail Run delivers academic results that are strong relative to other Douglas County schools, particularly in fourth and fifth grade math and reading. The student population is not especially diverse, and the share of students from lower-income households is modest but not trivial. The surrounding housing market is expensive for Kansas, and the local economy is dominated by the university and related sectors. This is a school that fits a family looking for a well-performing neighborhood elementary in a stable, university-anchored community with a lively downtown.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 45% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 467%

School 67% · District 47% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 44% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 361%

School 61% · District 58% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 465%

School 65% · District 54% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 55% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Science

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 50% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

This schoolLawrence, 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 3Lower-income44%Higher-income65%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income69%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income58%Higher-income71%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income29%Higher-income52%22 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income58%Higher-income69%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income47%Higher-income76%28 pp gap