The top reported proficiency rate is 21% in English language arts. The lowest is 11% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Caldwell Elem
Caldwell Elem is a public elementary school in Wichita, Kansas, serving prekindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Wichita school district, the largest in the state. The school sits on South Edgemoor in a residential section of the city. Enrollment is modest for its grade band, and the student body is diverse. Hispanic students make up the largest share, followed by Black students, with smaller numbers of white, multiracial, Asian, Native American, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a community with significant economic need.
State testing data from the Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) is available for math, English language arts, and science. The results are low across all tested grades and subjects. In math, the proportion of students scoring at proficient or above declines from third grade through fifth grade, with fifth-grade math proficiency particularly weak. ELA proficiency also drops as students move up, with the highest performance in third grade and the lowest in fifth grade. Fifth-grade science proficiency follows a similar pattern. It is important to note that the state made changes to the cut scores for both math and ELA in the assessment year reported here, which means these results cannot be directly compared with prior years. In the context of schools across Sedgwick County, Caldwell Elem’s overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile among districts. A parent may want to discuss with the school how it supports students who are behind grade level and what interventions are in place.
Because Caldwell Elem serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate, no chronic absenteeism data, and no information about high school course access or college readiness programs. The school does not appear to offer specialized magnet or charter programs, and its Title I status is not listed in the available data.
Wichita itself is Kansas’s largest city, with an economy heavily tied to aircraft manufacturing and a working-class industrial base. The city is car-dependent, with walkable nodes in the downtown Old Town district but a sprawling layout overall. Housing values in the school’s zip code are below the state median, and rents are relatively moderate, though both have risen recently. The school’s neighborhood reflects the broader city pattern of low-density residential areas built around automobile travel.
For families considering Caldwell Elem, the picture is clear: this is a school with a high concentration of students from low-income households and academic achievement that is low relative to other public schools in the county. The school’s strengths may lie in the supports it provides to its specific population, but the available data does not detail those supports directly. A parent looking at this school should ask about class sizes, instructional interventions, after-school programs, and how the school engages families. The city context offers cultural and civic amenities, but the school itself is not located in a dense, walkable part of Wichita. For a family weighing options, Caldwell Elem fits a profile of a high-need, low-attainment elementary school in a large, diverse urban district. That is not a judgment; it is the factual starting point for further questions.
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