Owingsville Elementary School, Owingsville KY

Original Research by School Decision on Owingsville Elementary School

Owingsville Elementary School is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Bath County, Kentucky. It sits in the small county seat of Owingsville, a historic town at the junction of US 60 and Kentucky 36 that is part of the Mount Sterling micropolitan area. The school is the only elementary in the district, and its enrollment size is typical for a rural county-seat elementary. A substantial share of students come from lower-income households, with many qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, which families should consider when thinking about the economic context their children will experience among peers.

The student body is predominantly white, with a very small share of Hispanic students and an even smaller share identifying as two or more races. No data was available on the percentage of students with disabilities or English learners, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the supports available for those populations. The school offers a full range of elementary grades, and because it does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report.

On the Kentucky Summative Assessment, results varied across subjects and grades. In reading and language arts, performance in third and fourth grades was in a moderate range, while fifth graders showed a stronger share meeting proficiency. Math results were more uneven: third and fifth graders had similar proficiency rates, but fourth graders had a notably lower share. Fourth-grade science showed the lowest proficiency rate among all tested subjects, and fifth-grade social studies came in at a moderate level. Without a direct comparison to other schools in the county (Bath County has only one district, so no peer benchmarks are available), it is hard to say how these figures stack up locally. A parent may want to look into the school’s instructional focus in math and science, especially for the grade levels where results are softer.

The school’s home community of Owingsville is a small, quiet town with a modest downtown centered on the county courthouse and a public library. The town has experienced slight population decline in recent years after a period of minimal growth, and the housing market reflects the rural setting, with home values below both state and national benchmarks. No major new development projects were identified in available sources, and the town appears stable rather than expanding. There is no specific walkability data, but the town’s small size means the school is likely within a short distance of the core residential areas.

The district brief turned up little in the way of recent changes that would affect a family’s decision. Bath County Schools appear to have operated without major public shifts in programming or policy in the recent period covered. That means a parent considering Owingsville Elementary should focus on the school’s day-to-day instruction and community feel rather than any district-level transformation. The school’s academic results, combined with the high poverty rate and the absence of comparative district data, suggest that families who value a small-town, rural setting and are comfortable with moderate proficiency levels may find this school a fit. Those looking for strong academic benchmarks or a rapidly growing area may want to ask more questions about curriculum and intervention programs.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 427%

School 27% · District 34% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 36% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 36%

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 48% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 51% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median

Science

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 30% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 34% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median

This schoolBath County, 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-income26%Higher-income71%45 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income39%Higher-income58%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income52%Higher-income72%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income31%Higher-income71%40 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income67%35 pp gap