South Floyd Elementary School, Hi Hat KY

Original Research by School Decision on South Floyd Elementary School

South Floyd Elementary School in Hi Hat, Kentucky, serves students from prekindergarten through eighth grade as a regular public school in the Floyd County district. It is the only school in this unincorporated coal town, a setting that is predominantly rural and residential, with a sparse built environment and no commercial core. The school building sits along a state highway rather than on a separated campus, and the community’s most visible civic anchor is its post office. Historically tied to coal mining, Hi Hat is a very small place, and the school functions as a neighborhood anchor for families in the area.

The student body is overwhelmingly white and draws from a community with high economic need. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Enrollment by grade runs largest in the early elementary years and stays steady through the middle grades, so the school handles a full PK–8 span under one roof. No information is available about programs such as gifted education, special education services, English learner supports, or extracurricular offerings. A parent would want to ask the school directly about what is available in those areas.

State assessment results from the 2024–25 school year cover math, reading, science, and social studies across grades three through eight, though some results were suppressed, likely because the number of tested students in those grade-and-subject combinations was too small to report publicly. In math, the share of students scoring proficient was low across the grades where figures were reported; fewer than one in three students met the bar in the grades for which data is available. In reading, results varied more widely by grade. Some grades posted a stronger showing, with roughly half of students reaching proficiency, while in other grades the rate was lower. Science and social studies results, where reported, also showed a minority of students at the proficient level. Overall, the pattern is one of achievement that trails state averages, and a parent may want to talk to the school about the specific interventions and supports it offers in core subjects.

Housing in the Hi Hat area is very low-cost, with typical home values far below both the Kentucky and national medians. The local economy historically relied on coal mining, and current employment likely draws on the broader Pikeville metro area. The community is stable but has no recent development or growth activity publicly described. The Floyd County district did not have recent strategic initiatives or bond referendums that were publicly reported in searchable sources.

South Floyd Elementary offers a traditional PK–8 pathway in a close-knit, rural setting. The school is small enough that most families in the immediate area will know it well. For a parent weighing academic data, the reported proficiency numbers suggest that the school is working from a high-need baselineaisdad. A conversation with the principal about how the school addresses literacy and math instruction, and what supplemental programming exists, would give a fuller picture than the state results alone.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 36% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 27% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 29% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 823%

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

▼ 18 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 37% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 453%

School 53% · District 44% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 43% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 47% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median

Grade 752%

School 52% · District 46% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 37% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median

Science

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 20% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 30% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 38% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median

This schoolFloyd 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

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income30%10 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income22%Higher-income29%7 pp gap