The top reported proficiency rate is 35% in English language arts. The lowest is 18% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Macarthur Elementary School
MacArthur Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Liberal, Kansas, a southwest Kansas city that functions as the county seat of Seward County and a regional hub for agriculture and energy. The school sits within Liberal USD, the public school district that also operates several other elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school across the city. Liberal itself is a car-dependent community with a strongly bilingual and multicultural character, shaped by a large Hispanic and Latino majority and a notable foreign-born population. The city’s economy is built around beef processing, oil and gas extraction, trucking, and related industries, with National Beef and the local hospital among the major employers. The cost of living is below the national average, and housing values reflect that relative affordability. Population has been declining slightly in recent years, though the city has attracted new industrial investment, including a battery manufacturing facility, and continues to reinvest in civic infrastructure such as parks and a community pool.
MacArthur Elementary enrolls a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with a white minority and smaller shares of Asian, Black, multiracial, and Native American students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a high-poverty context. The school is a regular public elementary school, not a charter or magnet. It serves only the elementary grades, so there is no high school graduation rate to report here.
On state assessments administered through the Kansas Assessment Program, student proficiency rates across all tested subjects and grades fall below the state average. In math, proficiency varies by grade, with the third-grade cohort performing at a level that is modestly higher than the fourth- and fifth-grade cohorts. In English language arts, the pattern is similar: third graders show a slightly higher rate than fourth and fifth graders. In science, which is assessed only in fifth grade, the proficiency rate is the lowest among the tested subjects. These results place MacArthur’s overall academic performance in a position that is above the midpoint when compared against the few other school districts in Seward County. That comparison is narrow — the county has only two districts — but within that small set, MacArthur’s combined proficiency index is the stronger of the two.
The school’s student support context is partially visible from the data. A large share of students qualify for income-based meal assistance, indicating that many families face economic challenges. Data on special education and English learner populations was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how those students are served and what support programs exist. No information on discipline rates, chronic absenteeism, or staffing ratios was reported, creating gaps in the picture of daily school climate.
The district itself shows no publicly reported recent major changes or initiatives, so it is difficult to assess whether any new academic programs, facility upgrades, or leadership shifts are underway. Liberal’s community institutions — Seward County Community College, the Mid-America Air Museum, and the local hospital — provide some civic and educational anchors, but the elementary school operates without the kind of extensive course offerings or specialized pathways that are more common at the secondary level.
Overall, MacArthur Elementary serves a economically challenged and culturally vibrant community. Its academic proficiency levels are modest, and it performs favorably only within a very small local comparison set. A parent considering this school will likely want to explore what intervention and enrichment programs are in place, how English learners are supported given the large Hispanic population, and what the school’s approach is to building foundational literacy and math skills in the early grades. The school is one of several elementary options within the Liberal district, and families may need to weigh those choices based on proximity and specific program offerings that are not captured in the available data.
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