The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in English language arts. The lowest is 30% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Moscow Elem
Moscow Elementary is a small public school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in the Moscow Public Schools district, a rural district in southwestern Kansas that runs two schools. The elementary is the only building for the younger grades; older students attend Moscow High School in the same compact town. With a modest enrollment, the school operates in a community that is deeply rural and has seen population decline over recent years, according to census estimates. The town itself sits on the flat High Plains along U.S. Route 56, with an economy rooted in agriculture and limited commercial activity. Home values in the area are well below state and national medians, making this one of the more affordable housing markets in the region. The school district, as publicly reported, has not had any major referendums, curriculum overhauls, or other lasting parent-relevant changes in the recent period.
On state assessments administered through the Kansas Assessment Program in the 2024-25 school year, results varied by grade and subject. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above ranged from around half of third graders to roughly three-fifths of fourth graders, then dipped to about two-fifths in fifth grade. In mathematics, the range was wider: about one-third of third graders met the bar, about one-sixth of fourth graders did, and half of fifth graders did. In science, only fifth graders are tested; about one-third of them scored proficient or above. Kansas updated its cut scores for these assessments, so direct comparisons with prior years are not available. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint when placed against the other district in Stevens County, which is the only other district in the county. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, no advanced coursework, and no career or dual-credit pathways.
About seven in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a substantial share that signals a high level of economic need in the community. The student body is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic minority making up roughly a quarter of enrollment. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the records reviewed. Families looking for information on class sizes, staffing ratios, discipline rates, or chronic absenteeism will find those fields empty in the data provided; a parent may want to ask the school directly about these aspects of daily life.
The school is not a charter, not a magnet, and its Title I status is not reported. The building is integrated into the town’s small residential grid rather than sitting on a separate campus; civic life and schooling are co-located within the town’s very small footprint. Given the town’s size, the peer environment is intimate, and students move through elementary together before joining the high school across the street, as it were. For a family seeking a tight-knit rural elementary in a community that is affordable and agriculturally rooted, Moscow Elementary offers a straightforward academic program with mixed proficiency results and a context of high economic need. The school’s strengths are most apparent in fourth-grade English language arts; the lower math proficiency in fourth grade and science proficiency in fifth grade are areas a parent may wish to explore further with the principal or district. Overall, this is a very small school in a very small, declining town, and the academic data reflects a range of performance rather than a consistent profile.
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