The top reported proficiency rate is 24% in English language arts. The lowest is 9% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Adams Elem
Adams Elementary sits in northeast Wichita, serving children from prekindergarten through fifth grade. It is one of many elementary buildings in the Wichita district, the largest public school system in Kansas. The school occupies a modest single-building site on North Oliver Street in a residential part of the city.
The student body reflects a high-poverty environment. A very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Racially and ethnically, the school is diverse, with Black students forming the largest group, followed by Hispanic students, White students, Asian students, and students of two or more races. The school does not have a magnet, charter, or special-admissions designation.
State testing results for the 2024-25 school year show what a parent should know. In English language arts, the share of students reaching the proficient or above level in third grade was modest, and the share was lower still in fourth and fifth grades. In math, the proficient share was small across all three tested grade levels, with fourth grade producing the lowest outcome. Science results for fifth grade also showed a low proportion of students meeting the proficiency bar. Kansas changed its cut scores for math, English language arts, and science in recent years, so direct comparisons to earlier years are not straightforward. Still, the available data indicates that academic attainment at Adams is well below the midpoint of the districts in Sedgwick County, placing the school in the bottom quartile on overall proficiency.
The school serves only primary grades, so it does not have a graduation rate or the advanced course offerings a high school would provide. The district brief searched for recent changes at the district level but did not find posted updates, so no recent initiatives or reorganizations are available to report.
Housing costs in the area are below the Kansas state benchmark and well below the national benchmark, consistent with the city's relatively affordable market. Rent prices have been rising moderately. Wichita itself is a large, spread-out city whose economy revolves heavily around aircraft manufacturing, with major employers like Spirit AeroSystems, Textron Aviation, and Bombardier Learjet shaping employment cycles. The city's growth has been slow, and downtown redevelopment efforts are visible, but the school's surrounding neighborhoods are older, with the typical auto-oriented layout of the wider city.
For a family considering Adams, the main characteristic is that the school serves a community with high economic need. The test results suggest that the school faces significant challenges in moving students to grade-level standards, particularly in math. A parent may want to ask the school directly about interventions, such as tutoring, after-school programs, or literacy coaching, that are in place to address these results. The school's diversity and its location within a large urban district are matters of plain fact, not a judgment of quality. A family looking for a school with a track record of strong academic outcomes would likely look elsewhere in the district or county. A family that values a neighborhood school close to home, understands the attainment picture, and wants to engage in partnership with the school may find Adams a fit worth exploring further.
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